


The Evolved

by TimeLadyoftheSith



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Alternate Torchwood, Alternate Universe, F/M, New Relationship, Smut, epidemic, human doctor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-30
Updated: 2017-09-06
Packaged: 2018-12-21 19:16:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 48,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11950875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimeLadyoftheSith/pseuds/TimeLadyoftheSith
Summary: In the year 2160, nearly a quarter of humanity has reached the next step in the evolutionary chain. There's just one problem, a virus has been unleashed that threatens to wipe the Evolved out. With the British Isles under quarantine, and the world watching from outside, Torchwood scrambles for a cure. With hope fading quickly, there is only one chance left.John Noble, the most intelligent person in history and known to the global elite as The Doctor, has found a way to save his own kind. Against the will of the board, he travels back in time to find a mysterious test subject who is immune. Will he succeed, or will his actions create a paradox that can't be undone.





	1. Chapter 1

28 December 2160

The Doctor stared down over the Atrium. Rows upon rows of gurneys, stretchers, and cots were lined up pristinely. Some had white sheets covering them, and others soon would. It was the reality of the world around him. He had tried everything he could think of to fix this, but so far he had failed.

This virus had struck without warning, an attack over a hundred and fifty years in the making. Nobody saw it coming, knew it existed, or could even have predicted it. The facility where it had been housed was defunct, abandoned on the outskirts of Cardiff, empty since the year two-thousand and ten. Nobody knew it was waiting, housed inside the ventilation system, waiting for a count down to finish.

Now, here he was, the greatest researcher, medical practitioner, and scientist on the planet, and even he couldn't have stopped it. The Doctor could only watch as they all began to wither away and die. All of the United Kingdom was on quarantine, and the world watched from the other side of the country sized bubble. All around the globe, the Evolved waited to see if it would escape.

"Doctor." The gloved hand of his assistant, Martha, touched his shoulder. Her sterilization suit shimmered as she moved. "We've found something." He could see the fear in her eyes, not fear of death, but fear of hoping. She passed him a tablet, the screen full of old files that had been digitalized.

He knew that look, because it was in his eyes too. The Doctor drew a breath as he stared down at the half burned, disjointed, and digitally remade pages on the screen. There was a picture of the virus, under a microscope. There was no name on the reports, just initials "H.S." in the upper corner was a date, barely visible anymore. It had been scanned and reconfigured until the original ink had formed a negative image in the burnt paper.

His own sterilization suit clung to his body as he followed her to the makeshift meeting room. "Call the board." Martha hurried off, as he made his way to the meeting room. Here it was, everything he had been searching for, the possibility of a cure. Torchwood had been working tirelessly for the last year to find a cure or a vaccine, but it had all been in vain. The virus was too unique, too customized to each person to treat. They needed a miracle.

Yet, here it was, plain as day. The final boxes that had been dredged up from the old Cardiff Torchwood tower had been throughly scoured for these five pages. The Doctor slid into his chair at the head of the table, and his stomach jerked. The virus had been perfected only five months before the explosion. The explosion had rocked the world's view of humanity, showing the next step in the cycle of humanity: the Evolved. There were a list of subjects, only as numbers, with one circled and labeled 'immune'. Test subject A165 was what he needed. Now, he just had to find them.

"Good Evening Doctor." The voice of Mikael Tyler, head of the Torchwood board of directors, and owner of Vitex Incorporated, drew his attention from the file. The rest of the board was slowly filing into the room. Their sterilization suits all squeaked and rustling as they took their usual seats. "I understand your team found the source."

"Yes." The Doctor wanted to run his hand through his hair, but the protective bubble around his face stopped his hand. "Right. The Toclafane Virus was created in the Cardiff Tower in early two thousand and ten, but someone with the initials H.S." He tapped the screen of his tablet, throwing the files out to the display screens in front of each person. "As you can see, he or she was experimenting on the first Evolved. All of their subjects, except one, died. Test subject A165 showed immunity."

"But nobody else living now has shown immunity so far." Andrea Blackstock, Mikael's twin sister and the head of the ethics committee spoke up. "So how does this help us? Whoever this was died probably seventy or eighty years ago." The board members mumbled in agreement, and he swallowed.

"Before you called me in to research a vaccine or treatment." The Doctor shifted in his seat, and then opted to stand. "I was working on a project."

"Project TARDIS." Mikael cut in. "Yes, we are well aware of that little endeavor, Doctor." He tilted his head and leaned forward in his seat to stare him down. "You were supposed to shut that project down. The risks were too great. Time Travel-"

"Time Travel is exactly what we need!" The Doctor hadn't meant to shout, but he slammed his fist down. He was tired of people telling him that his goals, his aspirations were too dangerous. He knew the risks, how to avoid them, how to prevent paradoxes. Yet, still, these closed minded people didn't seem to grasp that concept. "Don't you understand! Maybe this virus isn't such a threat to you, Mr. Tyler because you're human, just plain ordinary human. So are your wife and your children. This virus doesn't affect you."

"The answer is no, Doctor." Mikael turned off his screen and stood. "We have research facilities all over the world taking blood samples from volunteers. We'll find someone else who is immune, but until then we keep working on finding a way to slow it down. This subject is closed." Without another word, the most powerful business man in the world strode out of the room. The board members followed suit.

The Doctor slumped down into his chair again. "Idiots." He grumbled, clenching his fingers in his gloves. "Stupid, closed minded, apes." His plan had been so simple, so easy. He would go back, wiggle his way into the research, and get a sample of A165's blood. With that in hand, he could come back here and get to work on a cure. He wouldn't even be gone for more than an hour of the current time, even if he stayed in two thousand and ten for weeks or months.

"Not all of us are stupid, closed minded, apes Doctor." Andrea's voice drew his attention up. She was standing behind her chair, staring down at the display screen in front of her. "I was never in favor of closing down Project TARDIS." She shook her head and a kind smile pulled her lips up. "We've been friends for years, and I listened to you theorize about changing time lines and altering fixed points since I was wearing pigtails and ribbons. If anyone could do it, without destroying reality, you could."

"Yeah, well your brother." The Doctor cut in, nodding at the door. "He seems to think my work is worthless." That wasn't surprising though. Despite being twins, Andrea and Mikael were as opposite as two people could be. Where Mikael was confident, powerful, and had the ability to make people snap to attention with a glance, Andrea was a soft touch, a gentle smile, and could make anybody feel like they were the most important person in existence. Mikael was also a bit bigoted towards the Evolved, envious of their varying abilities. Andrea simply saw them as gifted individuals wanting to fit in with society.

"Mikael is just scared." Andrea came over to place a hand on his shoulder. "He's smart, yes, but scared. It started with our company, and now he risks losing it all. He thinks people blame him."

"Well, after this they should." He knew he was being harsh, but it was the truth. "I could be gone and back before breakfast, with the biggest breakthrough we've had, and he won't even consider it."

"Back before Breakfast?." There was a sadness in her voice he'd never heard, and it made him look up. His best friend, the one person who didn't care about his genius brain or extra heart, the one who had asked to be her Man of Honor at her wedding, was standing there staring at him as if he were her last hope. "Promise me, Doctor. Because, if you don't come back, I don't know what I'll do."

The Doctor felt the weight on his shoulders grow heavier, as Andrea's hands splayed over her belly. Staring at her straight ahead, it wasn't visible, but as she turned he could see the tiny bump poking out. "Does Harrison know?" He gasped as she nodded. Harrison, her husband, had left for Scotland last week to fill in for a researcher who had been exposed.

Oh this was beautiful and terrifying all at once. Beautiful because his best friend had been trying for five years to conceive, and terrifying because he knew without her saying that her baby had been screened. Her child would be Evolved, and there was no hospital or building in the entire country that would be sterile enough to deliver safely. "For your niece or nephew, do you promise to come back?"

This was it, her giving him permission to do what he had been planning his entire life. "I promise." The Doctor pushed his chair back, looking up at her, trying to give her the reassurance she needed. He extended a hand to the tiny lump under her sterlization suit. "Do you hear me?" He murmured, pressing the glass of his mask against her abdomen. "Your Uncle is gonna find a way. Then your mummy won't have to be scared anymore."

"Hurry, Doctor." Andrea pulled him up and pushed him to the door. "Breakfast is in eight hours." Her nervous laugh followed him as he hurried into the hall.

"Right." The Doctor spoke to no one, as he headed towards his office. He had been planning for this, and what he needed was locked in his wall safe. He typed in the combination and pulled out the slick, vintage briefcase he had rustled up from an auction. Inside was an entire identity from birth records to school transcripts to medical exams, all of the now outdated currency he could scrounge up which was equivalent almost half a years salary if he had been alive then, and a classic thumb drive designed to establish his identity in every database in the world as well as apply for one of the constantly available research positions in the original Torchwood. Honestly, he could crack all of the fire walls in one shot from that time period, as simplistic as they were, but this was easier.

Sitting in the back of the box was what he needed to do this, the machine he had lied and swore he'd destroyed. The vortex manipulator was tucked behind a false wall, and he pulled it out. The rough leather was heavy as he strapped it onto his wrist and made his way to his personal decontamination shower. He stepped in, stripped off the thin sterile suit, and turned on the shower. While the virus couldn't be cured, yet, it could be killed when not inside the blood stream.

The Doctor opened his briefcase, letting the sharp and bitter gas and mist fill it, washing away any and microscopic hitchhikers, and when he was certain everything was sterile, he typed in the coordinates for the time, date, and location of arrival.

The world jerked around him, like it had during the tests. This trip wasn't just a blink, like the five or ten minute jumps into the past or future had been. It squeezed his chest, and as his two hearts felt ready to explode. Everything went dark for a second, and then sunlight was pouring over his face.

The Doctor stumbled against the wall of the alley he had landed in, and drew his first breath of unfiltered air in a year. He nearly choked, tasting the exhaust of petrol fueled cars and the pollution of this era. He steadied himself, letting his respiratory system grow accustomed to the change in the air. "I made it." He laughed, as he pressed his hands against the warm wall. "I did it!" Now, he had a mission to start. First things first, establish his existence.

It took him the better part of an hour to track down a map of the city, locate an unattended laptop to plant his files, and track down clothes that would blend in with the populace. Once that was done, he purchased himself a mobile phone and a laptop, and a flat. He was officially integrated into the twenty-first century. Now he just had to wait for the call from Torchwood.

As he spun around his empty apartment, he couldn't help but smile. Things were going much easier than he had planned, and for the first time in a year, the Doctor felt hope.

 


	2. Chapter 2

4 February 2010

Rose Tyler leaned back in her chair, gazing at the city through the glass wall of office that her father had assigned her to. All twenty-four years of her life had been leading to this, her first official day as an executive at Torchwood. Pete Tyler, founder of Vitex incorporated and the Director of Torchwood had been grooming his daughter since infancy to take over for him. Not many had objected to this decision either, at least, not out loud.

She had always been unique, always ahead of her peers in classes at the Torchwood Academy, not just academically but physically as well. Rose was special, as her father put it, unique in a way that the world had never seen before. When she was little, her checkups had astounded the medical team, and they discovered that her DNA was different. She was human, but more than human all at once. Evolved, the research team had said. She was evolved. Her senses were all elevated, more on the level of what a wolf would have than a human, and when she was enraged, she could manipulate the energy around her into a blast. She tried hard not to get that angry.

Slowly, others like herself had begun to emerge. Each was unique in their own way: superior strength, telepathic, able to communicate with animals, and so many other abilities that they were still learning. Fearing for their safety, Pete had sent out recruiters to find them and bring them in. So far, nearly a thousand Evolved, as they called themselves, were under the protective shelter of Torchwood's power across the globe. They were educated, taught to keep their abilities calm and in control, and readied trained to pursue lives of their choosing in the world.

Some, like Rose, had volunteered to be examined. She donated three vials of blood a week to the research department herself. It had been discovered that their blood was unique, able to process and react differently to so many various diseases. Perhaps, something in their genetics held the key that would create a medical breakthrough. Nobody was ever physically experimented on, as Pete forbade it.

However, things were close to bringing about change. By the end of this year, Torchwood planned to present to the world leaders the work that had been done, the possibilities that the future may hold for the Earth and the human race. Rose Tyler would be heading up the department that would establish the announcement and the research that had been made. She was both terrified and exhilarated all at once. First, though, she needed someone to help her compile everything, to oversee the new research, and to make sure that all results were portrayed in a way that could not be taken as a threat. That was why she had begun taking applications for an assistant director.

So far, her interviews had fallen short. Nobody had given off that sense of sincerity, of trust that she needed. She needed someone charming, intelligent, level headed, confident, and the ability to adapt quickly. She only had one more interview this morning, and then she would have to wait for more.

Doctor John Noble, age thirty, test scores off the charts at every institution he had ever attended, an Evolved, based on the medical paperwork included, never married, no children, and nine different doctorates, was next. She hoped this was it, that he would have that thing she was looking for. "Sarah Jane." Rose pressed the intercom on her desk. "Has Dr. Noble arrived?"

"Yes ma'am." Sarah Jane's reply was chipper, as if she had just been in the middle of a happy conversation. "Shall I send him in?"

"Yes please." Rose straightened his folder and closed it. The door opened, and Sarah Jane let a man pass. When he looked at her, she was a bit shocked. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but he wasn't it.

Doctor Noble was tall and thin, but lithe. Each step he took oozed purpose and confidence, but had this air of relaxation about it. His rich brown hair was tousled to perfection, ending in sideburns that accentuated his proud jaw and cheeks. When he smiled at her, it was everything she had been searching for: inviting, friendly, charming, but still holding that spark no one else had had. Instead of a black or grey business suit, he had gone for brown pinstripes, a blue shirt, paisley tie, and a pair of cream colored Converse. His caramel colored eyes were friendly, but seemed a bit shocked as she stood and held out her hand. "Welcome, Doctor Noble. I'm Rose Tyler."

"The Rose Tyler." His fingers wrapped around hers firmly as they shook. "As in the daughter of Pete and Jackie Tyler?"

Rose couldn't help but laugh, because people often greeted her that way. "The very same. Please, have a seat." She gestured at the chair across from her desk, and he settled into the leather. She leaned back, trying to mimic the relaxed look her father always had while interviewing people. "Before we move on to your resume, why do you want to work for Torchwood? With these credentials, you could have any job at any other company in the world. Why us?"

"I want to save the world." His statement was simple, but the sincerity of it almost made Rose laugh.

"What do you mean by that? How would working here help you save the world?" Rose felt her lips twist up into a smile. This was the first time an applicant's answer had made her do so.

"Torchwood and Vitex have been the leaders in the advancement of technology, medicine, and engineering for the last fifteen years." Doctor Noble's face broke into a smile that drew her in. She felt herself leaning forward a bit as he continued. "No other organization has managed to produce such outstanding results with so little negative repercussion. I want to be a part of that, to see what I can do to help bring about a safer, more advanced society, for humans, for people like us, and for the generations to come."

"Well then." Rose leaned back again, drumming her fingers on the arm of her chair. It was the first answer that had not seemed self serving. Every other applicant had discussed their specific skill sets and how they would help the companies become more successful. Doctor Noble, however, had focused his answer on what she had been waiting to hear. He wanted to help society. "That was a very unique answer, Doctor. Now, I see here you requested to be placed in the research department." She opened the royal blue folder before her, tapping his printed application. "However, I honestly feel like your talents would be a waste as just another lab coat. Tell me, how confident would you feel as a liaison?"

"What type of liaison?" The disappointment flashed in his eyes only briefly, a flicker of a shadow that darkened that inviting caramel.

"I'm in charge of a special project, involving people like us." She arched her eyebrow as if to imply something that wasn't to be spoken out loud. "I need someone who is as comfortable in a laboratory as they are in front of a camera. You would be tasked with supervising the research teams, monitoring and auditing their work, analyzing their results, and helping me with a presentation that is going to change society as the world knows it."

"Sounds intriguing." This time the Doctor leaned forward, an eyebrow arching and his posture shifting from contained confidence to barely restrained curiosity. "But this sounds like something better suited for someone who's been with the Institute."

There it was, that little bit of spark she needed. Someone to challenge her, question her motivation, and not be afraid to call her out had been her goal. The people who already worked here never contradicted her to her face, and that wasn't what she wanted. She wanted Doctor John Noble. "No, I don't think so." She closed his file, placing her palms flat on it, and met his eyes. They were analyzing her, like he was seeing a face he recognized that was somehow different. "The pay would be better, as well." She threw out the hook that usually worked.

"The pay doesn't matter to me." His lips pulled up in a smirk, as if he was onto her ploy. For some reason, it made her stomach do a little flop. Never before had anyone, man or woman, so openly pushed back her ideas. The challenge he presented was thrilling, almost like flipping the roles they found themselves in.

"I'll make you a deal, Doctor Noble." Rose shifted forward in her chair and held up two fingers. "Give this position two weeks, and if you feel like you would still be better suited in the labs, I'll move you over." She watched his eyes, almost able to see the wheels turning in his mind. His smirk was still in place, and it slid into a cheeky smile.

"Agreed." The Doctor nodded and his gaze fell to the file under her left hand. "When do we start?"

"Tomorrow morning." Rose stood, picking up his file, and gestured to the door. "If you come with me, Doctor, I'll have Sarah Jane get started on your orientation packet and have her send your files down to medical."

Doctor Noble stood, and she gestured him to the door. As he moved ahead of her, his scent caught her with a breeze. It was definitely Evolved, and yet not like the ones she had ever been around before. He was different, almost as if he didn't belong there. Rose shook that off, chalking it up to the fact that their exchange had been amicably antagonistic. "What time should I be in?" He had stepped back into the reception area and turned. That damned eyebrow was arching again.

"Eight o'clock, sharp." Rose returned his look with one of her own, and her eyes fell on the other person waiting in the area. "Doctor Saxon! Sorry to keep you waiting."

"No trouble at all Miss Tyler." The doctor in charge of researching Evolved immune responses to outside influences stood with a smile. "Ms. Smith told me you were conducting an interview." His eyes glanced over at Doctor Noble, and he nodded. "Are you ready for your weekly draw?"

"Yes." Rose held her office door open and waved to get Sarah Jane's attention. "Make sure you give Doctor Noble my work mobile, and set him up with an orientation packet."

"Of course." Her childhood nanny turned secretary nodded.

Rose closed the door as soon as Doctor Saxon was inside. "How's Lucy?" She grinned, stripping of the business jacket she was wearing to expose her arm. She had grown up with Lucy, as their fathers had been in the same social circles and their mothers had often coplanned charity events and galas. However, while Rose was being groomed to take over for her father, Lucy had gone the route of trophy wife and social debutant. She had landed Doctor Harold Saxon, one of her father's top medical researchers, almost as soon as she had graduated the university.

"Absolutely perfect, as always." Harry smiled, that warm charismatic charm that always made people trust him. He snapped on his gloves and began swabbing the crease of her elbow. "How's the first day?"

Rose didn't even flinch as the needle slid in, and he taped it in place. "Exciting, tedious, and a little bit overwhelming." She wasn't really scared of her new position, just worried about not disappointing her family. She watched as he pulled the second vial away and set it in the cooler he had open on her desk.

"That's how all first days feel." Harry laughed in a friendly manner as the third vial filled. He pulled the needle out and dropped it into the sharps container attached to the cooler, and slid the lid closed. "You'll be fine." He taped a small gauze pad over the droplet of blood on her arm and handed her back her jacket. "Until next week, Miss Tyler." He scooped.

"Until next week Doctor Saxon." Rose slid her arms into the pale blue sleeves.

When he was gone, she turned back to her computer. She didn't have much on her schedule for the day except some board meetings, lunch with her mum, and her father mandated self defense classes with Captain Harkness. Rose keyed in an email to Sarah Jane, inviting her to lunch as well, and asked her to clear her schedule for tomorrow so she could give Doctor Noble the tour of the facility and introductions to the board members. Doctor Saxon was right, after the initial nerves wore off, she felt just fine. 


	3. Chapter 3

The Doctor, or John as he had to go by for now, sat at his laptop filling in his orientation paperwork, he was a bit in shock. Everybody in back home knew about Pete, Jackie, Rose, and Toni Tyler. Pete was the one who had built Vitex from the ground up and convinced Torchwood to merge them together. He was, without a doubt, the most beloved of all the Directors in each companies histories, and Andrea and Mikaels great-great grandfather.

Rose Tyler, however, was the name that had left the mark on the world. Her given name, and nickname, were the symbol that Torchwood had adapted, would adapt, in a year: a wolf holding a single long stem rose. John had not expected his interview to be with her, and it had almost thrown him for a loop. It was mindboggling, to talk and negotiate a job with a woman he knew would be dead in five months. The nickname, Bad Wolf, didn't come from a vicious personality. It had come from her distinctive wolfish senses and the ferocity at which she handled everything in her life.

John had seen her pictures, heard the stories about her, like anyone at Torchwood had. It was her smile that had thrown him for a loop, and her accent. The Tylers he knew all had the posh, upper class accent. Rose sounded like she was just another average Londoner. That smile, though, was the same tongue touched one that had endeared Andrea to so many people.

He returned his thoughts to the paperwork, easily filling out the questions. He shifted on the single sofa bed he had purchased, nervous at first to splurge on money, but when the next page popped up, he almost spit out the water he was sipping. The offered salary was almost double what it had been for the position he had been aiming for.

"The little minx." He chuckled, and dug into his pocket for her card, on it was her work mobile and her email. Reading off the the number, he typed it in. For a moment he longed for his mobile back home. All that took was a thumb pressed to the screen, and his thoughts would be put directly into text.

**Hello Miss Tyler. This is Doctor Noble. Are you free to talk for a moment?**

He almost sat his mobile down, but three little dots appeared and waved inside a little blue bubble. Right, that mean she was typing. The Doctor was glad he had intently studied early twenty-first century technology in preparation of this ever happening.

**Currently listening to my father give a speech to some donors. I won't be able to talk for another half hour. Unless texting is fine?**

He thought for a moment, then decided to go put it off until the morning. Discussing salaries via texting was not appropriate one hundred and fifty years from now, so he doubted it was now.

 **We can discuss it before I turn in my contract tomorrow. See you at eight o'clock**.

The Doctor set his phone aside, glancing at the time on his laptop. It was still early, barely nine, but he had hardly slept the last few months and the mattress underneath him felt like a cloud instead of the harsh spring filled thing it was. He finished up the last bit of the paperwork, and sent it back to the very delightful Sarah Jane Smith.

When he snuggled under the thin sheets, he thought of home. The city here was loud, more so than he could ever have remembered. The old movies and clips from this era hadn't really captured the ever present sound of cars passing by, the way the harsh artificial lights of the lamposts pierced the curtains and blinds, or the sounds of sirens in the distance. He wondered which of his patients were fading now, overcome by the virus. He tried not to count them, to picture their faces, but they crawled into his mind.

Twice he jerked away, panic welling in his chest, making his hearts race as he grabbed for his mask, wondering why the taste of sterilized air wasn't invading his dreams. The Doctor pulled his pillow over his face, letting the slight weight of it try to give him so improvised relief.

When he woke, it was to the sound of beeping, but not from the alarm he had set. His phone flashed a message. The Doctor pulled it off of the charger with a groan, and squinted at the screen. It was already six thirty, and there was a text from Rose.

**How do you take your coffee?**

Coffee? Right, coffee was a typical morning stimulant that most people enjoyed in this time. The Doctor tried to remember how most people took it.

**Two creams and three sugars. Why?**

There was no immediate response, so he stumbled his way to the bathroom to shower and shave. He had to pat himself on the back, when he managed to use the three bladed plastic coated razor without nicking himself. The shower, however, was an entirely different venture. "Note to self, Doctor, test the water before you get in."

By the time he wriggled into a blue pinstripe suit and red Converse, it was already fifteen past seven and the cab he had ordered was waiting. He was both nervous and thrilled. Thrilled, because his mission was finally kicking off, and nervous because he knew he had to watch what he said so he didn't slip up. He got to the reception area just as Sarah Jane was logging in to her computer

"Good Morning, Doctor." She smiled, and it reminded him briefly of his mother. "You're early, but Miss Tyler should be in her office." She held up a cup with a lid and smiled. "Seeing as how she dropped off my coffee. Also, I got your contract last night. The salary page wasn't signed. Was there a problem?"

"Just a little misunderstanding, I was planning on talking to Miss Tyler about it." He returned her smile as she nodded. "Should I just go in?"

"Yes, she just asked me to send you in when you arrive." She began typing and slipping a headset over one ear at the same time. "I'll just email these over to her." Steeling himself to make sure he didn't bugger this up, the Doctor turned the burnished brass handle and pushed open the door.

Miss Tyler was standing in front of a gilded mirror on the far wall, adjusting the pins in her hair. The shoulder length blonde locks that had been down yesterday, were swept up in a twist in the back. Her powder blue suit skirt and jacket had been traded out for perfectly tailored black slacks and a pastel pink blouse that clung to her curves and had little black flowers along the hem and sleeves. "Good morning!" She beamed into the mirror before turning. "Coffee?" She pointed at a cup nearly identical to Sarah Janes on a small table near the door.

"Good morning." That smile was infectious, making him grin in return. "Yes, thanks." He scooped the cup up and took a sip. The hot, bitter liquid stung his tongue, but he swallowed.

"You wanted to talk before we start?" She had crossed to her desk, and picked up a tablet. It was so much bulkier than the nearly paper thins one he used.

"Hm?" Again, the eeriness of this situation was a bit unsettling. "Oh, right. The salary was more than I expected."

"Is that a problem?" She had looked up, her amber eyes sparkling in amusement. It struck him, then, that she was beautiful. The morning light was coming through the glass wall behind her, making her skin and hair glow.

"I thought we had agreed that I didn't need a larger salary." It didn't seem right that he would be taking money away from people when he wouldn't be around long enough to spend it.

"Not quite, Doctor Noble." That tongue touched smile peeked out as she lowered her tablet. "You said that the pay didn't matter to you." She tilted her head to the side, as if examining him like a sample under a microscope. "Usually people don't complain when they find we offer more than they ask."

"I'm not complaining." The Doctor felt his ear turn pink under that critical stare. He felt like she could see through him, that he didn't belong here. "I just think that the suggested salary is a bit exaggerated for the position you offered."

Miss Tyler laughed, a light hearted thing that made a strand of hair fall in her face and his own cheeks flush. "Normally employers barter for lower salaries, am I correct?" He nodded, sipping the coffee again and trying not to make a face at the taste. "Well I'm bartering higher. It's not up for debate." She came around the desk to hand him the tablet. "If you feel like it's too much for you, there is a variety of charities, scholarship funds, and out reach programs that Torchwood and Vitex both contribute to."

He realized it was pointless to argue this, as he knew that determined set of her jaw. "Yes Ma'am." The Doctor took the tablet and provided his electronic signature on the screen. Then he handed it back to her.

"Right." She tapped the screen a few times, and then tucked it under her arms. "Let's get you down to security, for your clearances and accesses, and then I'll give you a tour." She brushed past him, pulling the door open.

"Miss Tyler." He followed after her. Nothing in his orientation packet had really explained what his position entailed. "So what exactly will I be doing?"

"We'll discuss that after you've been given your official clearance." She waved at Sarah Jane as they passed and called a lift up. "I ran your background check and fingerprints myself last night. Your record is impressively clean, not even a parking ticket."

"I don't drive." It was true, since automobiles had become obsolete in big cities, he had only ever had to pilot patient transports. Those didn't exactly have to be parked.

"It was a joke." A dark blonde eyebrow arched at him as the lift dinged. They stepped out into a long hall, and she flashed her badge over a black block on the wall by a door. It slid open and she waved him through.

The room had monitors along every wall, sat pristinely on desks, and were surrounded by individuals in dark uniforms. For the first time since he arrived, the Doctor saw weapons. Each guard was armed with a set of pistols, cuffs, and what looked like a taser. Such weapons had been phased out totally around his world, barring collectors and museums. Pulse guns and stun rifles were the common use for security, and the militaries had all but converted to lasers.

"Captain Harkness." Miss Tyler's voice took on a friendly tone. "How's the eye?" She flashed a taunting smile as she steered him towards a man delegating tasks.

"Not as bruised as my ego." Captain Harkness' face turned, exposing a swollen black eye. "It was a lucky shot." The Doctor was surprised when the accent was distinctly twenty first century American.

"This is Doctor John Noble." She waved a hand at the Doctor. "He's my new liaison for Project Vortex. Doctor, this is Jack Harkness, the captain of the London Torchwood security team."

"Nice to meet you." The man flashed him a winning smile and stuck out a hand.

"Likewise." The Doctor shook it, not missing the way Rose poked Captain Harkness in the arm.

"Work now, flirt later Jack." She chuckled. It had been so long since any desire to flirt or be flirted with had even crossed his mind, that he hadn't noticed the approving gleam in the Captain's eye. "He needs a full set up, copy my access except to office Alpha."

"Follow me Doc." Jack weaved his way to a windowed room with a single white wall. "Stand there." He pointed with one finger. His picture was taken, followed by a digital scan of his finger print. He made a mental note to delete those files before his trip home. Within twenty minutes, they were back in the lift.

"You weren't this uptight yesterday." Miss Tyler mused as she scanned her badge instead of choosing a floor button.

"Just taking it all in." The Doctor murmured. He wasn't trying to be tense. He was just getting the lie of the building. It was nothing like the one he knew. Everything was far more closed in, more secretive. It was unsettling.

"As a friend of mine said 'first days are always that way'." She turned as the lift dinged, and the wall behind them slid open.

"Smart friend." He followed after her as they passed down a blank hall and turned left.

"Welcome to Research Wing One." She grinned as they passed along massive windows. "This is where we plan out all prototypes of our electronic technology, and my father's pride and joy."

He would have lied if he had said he wasn't impressed. On either side was an array of labs that were years above what most other companies would have at this time. Even though he recognized much of what he saw as obsolete in his time, he still couldn't suppress the pride he felt. Without all of this, the life he knew would never have existed. "This is amazing." He murmured, as they walked down the hall.

"Now, Project Vortex won't be reporting on any of this, but I promised you a tour." She was nodding and waving at a few people who acknowledged them, but nobody stepped out to question them.

"What will Project Vortex be involving?" The Doctor found himself pausing to watch as a three dimensional printer was forming a tiny black globe.

"That's the next stop." Her delicate fingers closed on his elbow, steering him back down the hall. "But, you have clearance to come in here an observe any time you'd like. Just don't get in their way."

The Doctor was sorely tempted, but he had a mission. "I wouldn't dream of interfering." That was the truth. He could probably turn this place upside down with his knowledge, and that was a mess he did not want to risk.


	4. Chapter 4

Rose spent her time gauging Doctor Noble's reactions as she gave him the tour. There was just something about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Every so often, she would see him cast a furtive gaze in her direction, and sometimes those gazes were something she couldn't describe. It was easy to tell that he was absorbing what he saw, as his critical eyes never stayed still very long.

When she had finally taken him into the research wing dedicated to the Evolved, his demeanor changed completely. This was obviously his element, and his questions came out so quickly that maintaining her authoritative attitude nearly slipped as she responded. Rather than stick next to him, she let him wander about and observe.

Doctor Saxon was at his usual table in the infectious disease section, even though his main office was now located in Cardiff. His eyes found hers, and lit up like Christmas. With a gloved hand, he waved her over to the glass walled corner. She donned a protective suit, mast, snd goggles, which were mandatory for entering that area, and shuffled into the room. "Morning Doctor Saxon."

"Good Morning Miss Tyler." He stroked a cotton swab over a petri dish. "I see your search for a new assistant proved fruitful." He slid the lid on the dish and popped it into a pile. "I want to show you something." He tapped a black gloved finger to the microscope.

"It did indeed." Rose came around the table to stare down at the slide. It was obvious that these were red and white blood cells, but she couldn't quite place what the others were. "What exactly am I looking at?"

"This is blood from one of my donors, subject A165." He clapped his hands and pointed at a tablet he was recording data on. "I took the blood and mixed it with a disease positive donor. Just keep watching."

Rose did as instructed, and then she realized something she hadn't see before. The cells she couldn't recognize were being brushed and touched by a myriad of very visible and healthy white cells. Within seconds, the disfigured cells began to break apart. "Hang on, are those white blood cells actually breaking down the virus?" She adjusted the focus of the lens in awe. "What disease is this?"

"HIV, Miss Tyler." She pulled her eyes away so he could work. "Roughly seven out of ten samples I've drawn show the same aggressive response. I'm still working out why." His eyes crinkled a bit in the corner, as if he was smiling behind his mask. "You Evolved are just one conundrum after the other."

"We feel the same way about ourselves." Rose laughed and made her way carefully out of the room. She shed her suit in the sterilization chamber, and stepped back out to the main floor. "Doctor" About twenty heads looked up at that word, but only one person turned. His eyes met hers from about nine rows away. "Ready for lunch?"

"Yes, actually." Doctor Noble made his way back to her side and shoved his hand in his pockets. "This place is brilliant, did'ya know that?" He rocked up onto his toes and then settled back.

"Yes I did actually." Rose couldn't suppress the laugh at his excitement. "Come on, on Tuesdays I eat with the Academy students."

"Academy students?" He followed along, as she led the way back to the lift. "What Academy?"

Rose grinned and pressed the button that would take them back down to the ground floor. "You'll see." This was her favorite part of the week, seeing the students. The small cafeteria was buzzing with chatter, and she heard Him gasp.

"You've set up a school?" His eyes drifted over the kids. "How many?"

"At this location, about two hundred ad twenty." She waved at one of the students who was currently making an apple levitate above the table. "Most of them live here in London with their families, but some are orphans or run aways that we found hiding from the law. The New York branch has the second largest count followed by the Japanese branch." She got in line and filled her tray with the meal of the day, warm soup, some water, and a banana.

Doctor Noble followed suit, ordering the same. Although his eyes lit up with a wicked gleam when he snagged a banana. "How many adults have you found?" She led the way to a table near some of the younger kids.

"Including you." Rose did a mental count from the last reports. "Three hundred and twenty six. Before I saw you medical files, I was the oldest." It hadn't escaped her notice that he was the first person who was older than her, and she had been meaning to ask about it. "How did you not get noticed growing up? I mean, two hearts, that's a first for our discoveries."

"My parents were holistic." His answer came quick, almost like it was rehearsed. That made her pause as she lifted her fork. Rose had a strange suspicion that he was lying, but figured this wasn't the place to push the matter. "I never even saw a medical doctor until I was twenty, and that was just for a sprained ankle."

Like she believed that. Still, nothing besides that made her question what she had learned about him. His records had matched every database they had searched. "So your chest xrays and physicals, in your file, who conducted those?"

"I did." Those caramel eyes sparkled defiantly at her, as if he realized where she was leading the conversation. "Once I realized I was, different, I figured examining myself would be better than sending some medical facility into a panic. Then, I overheard some people talking about the research on people who were evolved here, and figured I'd see if I could get in."

"Right." That was definitely a lie, but Rose didn't press the matter in front of the kids. "So, you wanted to know what we would be working on." She took a bite and gestured with her spoon. "This, everything that has to do with this. So far we've managed to keep the Evolved off of the global powers' radars, but we think it's time the world knows about it."

Realization seemed to have dawned on his face, and he took a bite of his banana. That turned the look of realization and turned it into an adorable look of amazement. Hadn't this man ever had a banana before. "So, we have spent the last six years researching how the Evolved happen, what genetic strands cause it, what their varying capabilities are, and most importantly, that they are without a doubt human."

She giggled as one of the kids accidentally landed a pencil in his soup, but he picked it up, wiped it off. Doctor Noble barely glanced over at the table, but the pencil soared through the air and landed neatly, point down, in the boy's empty cup. "Sorry, please continue." That cheeky smile was back. "Why do we have to prove they are human?" A few heads looked towards them.

"Keep your voice down." Rose wanted to pop him for saying that out loud. "Let's continue this in your office." She gathered her tray and carried it over to the drop off.

"I get an office?" Doctor Noble caught up to her. "Really? Where?"

"Well you are my partner." Rose couldn't resist rolling her eyes. At him, honestly the man went through mood changes faster than her mum. "Your office is adjacent to mine." They were back at the lift again, and the doors slid open.

"I thought I was working for you, not a partner." He seemed a bit stunned at this news.

"This project needs team work, collaboration. I need the people in the labs to recognize you are just as important as I am. That won't happen if people think you are my employee." She looked down at her tablet as it beeped. Throughout their tour she had been communicating back and forth with the team setting up his office and his work mobile. When the lift open, Sarah Jane was signing off on the tech team's paper work. She led him over to a door that was in the wall diagonal from hers. "Here we are then."

Doctor Noble stepped into the office and looked around. It was bare except for a massive desk, the standard issue massive chair, a small sitting area, a computer and phone. There was a door to the left of the room that led to her office. He made his way around to the desk to take a look at the computer set up. "Am I allowed to configure this to my preferences?" He was clicking at the keyboard.

"If you want, just follow company protocol on downloading external files." Her tablet beeped out a schedule notification. "I have a web meeting with the New York office. You can settle in or come watch. It's just the beginning of the month brief."

"I'll stay here and set up." Doctor Noble had settled into his chair, and he was typing and clicking furiously.

Rose shrugged and crossed the room to the door. She stepped into her own office and tapped the tablet to project the web meeting on the flat screen television above the sitting area. She kicked off her heels and reclined her chair back.

The rest of her day was uneventful, mostly just walking Doctor Noble through where to access the files they'd need, getting him added to her emailing lists, and instructing her teams to report anything they sent her to him as well. By five o'clock he was all settled in and ready to go. They shared a friendly goodbye in the lobby of the building, and he disappeared into the evening crowds.

"Hey princess." A strong hand closed over her shoulder. She looked up to see her father smiling down at her. "So that was Doctor Noble?"

"Hey Dad." Rose smiled as he draped an arm over her shoulder and walked her out the door. "Yep, what have you heard?"

"That the research leads he spoke with this morning like his energy." Pete shrugged as his driver pulled the car around. "Your mum wanted to know if you were coming for dinner."

Rose shook her head. "I'm running to the store to get some groceries." She watched as the driver got out to open the door and waved at him.

"You really should hire a shopper for that, love." Pete kissed her cheek and slid in.

Rose let out a breath and crossed the street to where her own car was parked. She really didn't have to go to the store, but after the heckling she got last night from her mum, Lucy, and Lucy's mum about when was she going to seriously try dating, she was not in the mood for another round. What she was really planning was to go home and dig deeper on this man she had hired.

Now that she wasn't feeling the stress of her first day and was able to think a bit more clearly, she was wondering if she had jumped the gun in her decision. The two story house with it's private garden sat on the outskirts of the city, making her drive home a decent way to relax and unwind. She kicked off her heels, changed into some soft yoga pants and tank top, and moved her laptop to the kitchen.

Doctor Noble's background search was still up from where she had skimmed through it last night, and she began to dig deeper. Everything he had told her matched up. "This is just too perfect." She murmured to herself as she turned the chicken she was sautéing over in the pan. "Not a single typo, no misplaced punctuation, nothing."

It was almost as if someone had gone in and implanted an entire identity in every database that he would have been found in, only, that wasn't possible. Even her father's most elite teams couldn't get past every firewall and cyber security in the world. Jackie had often joked that if Rose didn't pay attention, Mr. Perfect would drop out of the sky, and she'd totally overlook it. Well, Doctor John Noble did seem to be Mr. Perfect, or at least his record was.

"Maybe I did just hit the jackpot this time." Rose finished her dinner and settled into the barstool her computer was in front of. She began typing up a list of reports she had received prior to adding Doctor Noble to her mailing lists, and then she paused. She was very particular about how she liked her spreadsheets, charts, and reports to look. She wondered if he was the same. She picked up her work mobile and pushed dial on his number.

"Doctor Noble." His easy voice came on the line, and it sounded like a fork hitting a plate in the background.

"I hope I'm not interrupting dinner." Rose pushed her own plate to the side. "It's Rose Tyler."

"Not at all." He laughed lightly, she heard what sounded like typing. "How can I help you?"

"I was wondering if you'd prefer me to email you some reports I got last night directly, or just share the copies of my spreadsheets that I was adding them to?" She slumped an elbow to the bartop and drummed her fingers along the white marble.

"Um, just the reports would be great." There was more typing. "That way I can get the feel of how they look and figure out how to best read them."

"Right, of course." Rose slid the reports into a file on the shared drive she had set up for them. "Write this down. It's the passcode for our share drive."

"Ready."

"Capital P, two, nine, six, lunch, lowercase v, and an exclamation point." Rose read off the password she had created during her webcast. "Tomorrow your work laptop should be ready, and you'll be able to access the files from home."

"Got it." She could almost see that cheeky smile though the phone. "Anything else I can do for you?"

"No, I'll see you tomorrow." Rose pulled up her own spreadsheet to do some analysis.

"Eight am sharp." The phone went silent.

She threw herself back into her reports. Five months seemed a long way off, but when you were preparing to present in front of the United Nations, well, that was just a whole other thing entirely. Everything had to be perfect.


	5. Chapter 5

24 February 2010

The Doctor had been in the past for three weeks. Things were not progressing as quickly as he had hope, but that was understandable. The hardest part so far was keeping his knowledge of events to himself. He had kept up with break room talk of the Winter Olympics, as well as not spoiling it for Rose. He had learned that there was a period in her life where she had aspired to be a professional gymnast, but had eventually fallen back into the Tyler family ways.

He had learned quite a lot about Rose, actually, like how she ordered whip cream on her coffee, how she liked a dash of milk and three sugars in her tea, her favorite color was sunflower yellow, and that she secretly hated wearing heels. She only wore them because they made her taller, and the board members took her more seriously when she was in them. She also smelled like sandalwood and vanilla, and the fragrance often lingered on his left sleeve or shoulder from when she would sit next to him in a meeting or bend over to look at something on his screen.

The Doctor had also gotten used to coffee, even if it did make him feel like he'd been injected with an undiluted stimulant. Bananas, though, were the best part. They had been extinct since five years before his birth, subject to a fungus that even Torchwood couldn't find a way around. He was definitely going to miss bananas.

Still, the Doctor had to admit that he felt a bit relaxed. Just because it had been this long for him, he knew he could go back home in a moments notice right where he left off. So, he had begun to let himself enjoy his time, the ability to move freely without a sterilization suit, and watching the roots of his world take hold in society.

Tonight, though, he'd be relaxing a bit more than usual. He had received am email invitation to a charity dinner that Jackie Tyler had arranged. He had very nearly turned it down, until Rose had asked if he was going. Luckily for him, Sarah Jane has advised him on his third day to invest in at least one tuxedo.

The Doctor straightened his bowtie as the driver dropped him off at the front of the soaring luxury hotel where the dinner was being held. Captain Harkness was waiting outside of the door to massive ballroom overseeing the woman with the guest list. "Doctor Noble." He gave a warm smile but a formal nod. He was definitely in work mode, but when the Doctor passed he whispered. "She's wearing red."

The Captain's statement confused him, until he stepped inside the doors. Half of the ballroom had been sectioned off with graceful tables, and the other half was cleared out to make way for dancing. He was obviously early, as there were not many guests. Most of the women were in silver, gold, black, or pink. Only one was wearing red.

The dress dipped low in the back, coming to a stop just below the tiny dip that curved out to her rear, and showed off the toned muscles under her skin. There was a string of sparkling gems hanging from the clasp that held the halter strap together around her neck. The rich scarlet material clung to her thighs before stopping tastefully shy of the floor, exposing a pair of black heels with red soles. Her blonde hair was twisted up into a knot of curls, and sparkled with a tiny net set with gems. The woman was talking to Pete, and when he waved, she turned.

Rose looked positively stunning. Her makeup, always so professional and conservative, had been applied in such a way that the light caught and really showed the contours of her bone structure. Her amber eyes were lined with a sultry smoky khol, and a hint of gold and red glitter twinkled when she blinked. Her lips were as red as her dress, as opposed to the normal pink or nude she wore to work.

The front of her dress was just as perfect as the back. The v-neckline came down low enough to expose her normally concealed cleavage, but still covered enough to be considered appropriate. The curves of her waist were accentuated, and for a moment he wondered how well his hands would fit just there. The skirt split over the left leg, starting at two inches exactly above the knee, and exposing her muscular legs. Gone was Rose Tyler, Research Analysis Director of Torchwood. In her place was Rose Marion Tyler, Heiress of Vitex incorporated. Then, she saw him and smiled.

His brain was telling him to turn around and nope himself right back into a cab. His feet, on the other hand, were striding right across the shining wood floor. His hand extended, and she placed her perfectly manicured fingers in his. Before he could stop himself, he had bent over just a bit to kiss them. Her voice was a relaxed laugh as she pulled her hand away to gesture to her father. "Dad, I'm not sure you've properly met Doctor Noble."

"I've seen him at board meetings, but no." Pete Tyler stuck out a hand and the Doctor shook it firmly. "Nice to finally meet you Doctor."

"Likewise Mr. Tyler." The Doctor nodded once, trying to keep himself from glancing out of the corner of his eye at Rose.

"Call me Pete." The man laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "This isn't a work event." He looked behind him and grimaced. "Rosebud, I'm gonna go check on your mum. She looks about ready to strangle one of the event planners. Excuse me, Doctor." He stepped around them and hurried away.

"Well don't you look dashing." Rose had turned to him, and was adjusting the lapel of his tuxedo jacket. "There." She smoothed her thumb over one side and flicked away a bit of lint.

"You look...stunning." The Doctor was pretty sure that he really shouldn't be throwing out compliments like that. "That dress is something else."

"You think?" Rose bit one lip lightly, her cheeks turning a flattering pink, and looked down at the gown. "Mum always picks out my formal wear. I thought it was a bit flashy myself."

"It suits you." That was true, and not necessarily a compliment. He needed to get a hold on himself, because he could not step into this territory.

"May I ask you for a favor?" She was casting her gaze over the growing crowd. "You are no obligated to say yes though."

The Doctor felt his eyebrow arch. What favor could she possibly need from him? "Ask away, Miss Tyler."

"First, please call me Rose outside of work." She fidgeted with the diamond bracelet on her wrist. "But would you mind being my escort for the evening. My mum always tries to pass me off on her friend's son's and coworkers at these things, and I'd really rather not have to deal with that this evening."

Well that was going to make it hard to keep their friendship professional. Especially since he had already caught himself thinking about her more than he should over the last week. Still, there was no way he could turn down that pleading look. The Doctor held out his arm. "What are friends for?"

Rose instantly relaxed, and then she looped her arm through his in a very ladylike manner. "You're a lifesaver John." She paused for a moment then spoke again. "Okay, no, I think I like calling you Doctor more. That all right?"

"Perfectly fine by me." He laughed at that. "That's what everyone calls me anyways." He didn't add that he liked the the word sounded on her tongue. "Now, shall we go greet your father's guests or...." he let his voice trail off.

"Yes." Rose nodded to where Pete was holding the arm of a blonde woman in a black dress and shaking hands with people. "It's really easy. Just smile, shake some hands, and nod."

"Easy peasy." The Doctor led her across the floor to where her parents were standing.

"There you are Rosie!" The woman, obviously Jackie Tyler, smiled at them. Her critical eyes took the Doctor in, raking over him from head to toe and then freezing on where Rose's hand was resting lightly on his forearm. "Who is this then?"

"Doctor John Noble." He extended his hand and kissed her knuckles like he had Rose's, trying to be the polite gentleman that he didn't always manage to pull off. "Thank you so much for inviting me."

"Oh, the new doctor working with Rose." Her eyes drifted back down to their joined arms again. "I hope Rose hasn't been working you like a dog."

"If she had, I wouldn't have agreed to be her date for the evening." That statement did it. Jackie's fake smile broke into a genuine one.

"Guess I'll have to tell Lady Mitchell that her nephew Adam will be at her table this evening as originally planned." Rose cleared her throat and shot an 'I told you so' look up at him, before Jackie continued. "Rose, since you have a date, you don't need to do the greetings. Go have fun."

"Run." The Doctor half laughed as she turned away from them, and he led Rose into the crowd. "You weren't kidding were you." He shook his head as a waiter offered them each a glass of wine.

"I swear." Rose giggled sarcastically. "She thinks just because I'm still single that I'll end up alone." Those honey colored eyes rolled at the thought, and she sipped her wine.

She would though. Not that she knew that. She would die horribly and alone, risking her life to- no he couldn't think like that. She was alive, right now, all red and gold and porcelain. "Would you like to dance?" He mentally swore at his mouth. That wasn't what he meant to ask.

"You dance?" Rose laughed and passed her glass off to another waiter.

"I'm a bit out of practice, but I think I remember." The Doctor angled her out to the dancefloor, where a few other couples were already enjoying the music before the dinner began. He couldn't remember the last time he had danced. Was it Donna's wedding, when he'd filled in for their father? Maybe it was at Andrea's birthday. He wasn't sure, but Rose was an easy partner. She obviously had years of practice, because she held herself gracefully, her fingers light and accepting in his, and her other hand resting primly on his bicep.

"If this is out of practice, then I'd love to see what you're like at full potential." Rose beamed at him, that tongue touched thing that made her eyes light up. It didn't matter that he was from so far in the future, a slow, swaying, waltz was the same.

"We'll see how the night goes." The Doctor let himself splay his fingers across her lower back as he guided her to the music. Their conversation was light, mostly her pointing out the who was who of the crowd. When dinner was served, she pointed out their table, and he escorted her to her chair.

Dinner was spent mostly with Pete discussing business with some American pharmaceutical company owner and Jackie chatting up his wife. The Doctor didn't have much to add to that, since he wasn't familiar with the topics. Rose, for once, seemed content to sit and listen. It was odd to see her so relaxed and quiet. At work she was all business, asserting herself as she saw fit, and never acting so demure.

"How's your steak?" She asked, before taking a sip of the rich red wine that had been flowing freely.

"Perfect." It had been, but he was already full. Between the appetizer, salad, and finally the main course, the Doctor felt that finishing his meal would be pushing it. Even after three weeks, his body was still used to the rationed portions of the quarantine. "How was your chicken?"

"Delicious." Rose smirked at him and set her glass down. The wine and laughter from one of her father's jokes had her cheeks flushed. "Not that Mum would have it any other way." She folded her napkin politely and touched his hand. Then she murmured through so low he almost couldn't hear her over the murmur and the music. "Ask me if I'd like to get some air."

He was confused for a moment. Why would she need to get some air? Rose didn't look faint or overheated. Then he realized that Jackie was glancing over at them, waiting for the woman she was chatting with to wind down. "Rose, you're looking a bit flushed. How about we go out and get some air." He pushed back his chair and held out a hand.

"I am feeling a bit hot." She gave him a thankful smile and took his hand. "Thank you. Dad, Mum, do you mind if we excuse ourselves for a bit?"

Her parents smiled, and Rose stood. She looped her arm through his again and guided him towards a pair of glass doors that two of the staff were standing near. They opened the doors and let them pass through. As soon as they were on the veranda overlooking a lovely garden, Rose let out a breath, and leaned against the stone rail. Her perfect posture slouched a bit, and she squeezed his arm before unlacing their elbows. "What's wrong, Rose?" Was she really feeling a bit ill.

"Nothing." She shook her head, making the chandelier earrings tinkle. "You wouldn't understand."

"Tell me." He leaned against the rail, so he was facing her side. She wasn't looking out at the gardens. Her eyes were closed and her lips were in a slight frown. "Did somebody say or do something that I missed?"

That made her laugh, a short dry thing that was barely a sigh. "Would you believe me if I said I really, really hate these stupid parties?"

Now the Doctor was even more confused. She had been the epitome of perfection inside, every move as delicate and proper as some of the titled ladies he had met. Then it hit him. Rose had been acting. He could see it now that he looked back on it. "Oh." He didn't really have a response to that. This wasn't his lifestyle, not really, although he had been Andrea's date to a handful in their teens, always as a friend. "You seemed to enjoy the dancing."

"That's the only part." Her smile was genuine but small. "Although I don't enjoy having to be so." She snapped into her perfectly straight backed and still deceivingly loose posture. "You fit in well though. Been to parties like this before?"

"A few." The Doctor shrugged and squinted at the curtained doors. There was an internal struggle going on again. Rose had just opened up to him, probably a side she had never told to anyone else. It made him a bit more happy than it should, that spark of attraction he had been fighting kept flickering in his chest. This was the exact kind of trouble he had hoped to avoid. Still, he didn't want her to be so sullen, not when her time was so limited. "Dance with me." The words were out before he could stop himself.

"I really don't want to go back inside." She looked back at the window and then to him. He could tell the instant she figured it out. "Wait, out here?" The Doctor flashed her his cheekiest smile and took her hand. She went easily into his arms, but not in the same precise way as she had earlier.

He pulled her a bit closer than earlier, and kept their arms lower and more relaxed. "This better?" The music inside was barely audible, so he didn't bother trying to keep in step. He just stepped slowly side to side, moving them in a small circle.

"Why are you so perfect?" The question made him look down, and Rose seemed as if she was surprised she had said it out loud. She thought he was perfect? He was breaking about a dozen laws, not to mention dancing dangerously close to screwing up history.

"I'm far from perfect, Miss Tyler." It was the Doctor's turn to shake his head. "I'm human, errr, ish." That made her giggle, the first genuine one he'd heard. Her neck flushed all the way down to her chest, and she looked down at they shifting feet. "I'm just me."

"I told you to call me, Rose." She glanced back up at him only briefly, and then averted her eyes. It was probably the most endearing thing he'd ever seen. Rose Tyler was shy. She had a timid little streak of insecurity, and it was adorable.

"Rose it is then." He cleared his throat, and squeezed her hand softly. This brought her gaze back up to his face, and her eyes flicked between his as if searching for something. He had a question he wanted to ask, but it stuck in his throat as she smiled at him.

"How pissed do you think my mum would be if we ran for it?" Rose's eyes were sparkling like mad.

"Well, I don't know her that well, but probably somewhere around a sleeping bear poked with a stick." The Doctor laughed at the idea. There was no way she was serious.

"Let's find out." She stepped out of his arm, twisting her hand until their fingers laced together, and pulled. "My car is out front, let's go." The Doctor had no choice but to hang on tight and follow her into the night.


	6. Chapter 6

Rose didn't realize that she hadn't asked the Doctor if he wanted to go home. She had just tossed her shoes into the back seat and aimed towards home. She pulled into the garage, turned off the ignition, and looked over at him. Their eyes met for a moment in the dim lights and then he started laughing. That set her into laughter as well. "I can't believe we just did that." He gasped wiping at his eyes.

"Me either." She clutched her sides and tried to catch her breath. After another round of giggles, she drew a shaky breath. "Want to come in for some tea?"

"Do I have any other choice?" He gave her a playful look and slid out of the car.

Rose snagged her shoes in one hand and slid out herself. She typed in the security code for the alarm, and unlocked the door. When they stepped inside the side hall, which led into the sitting room, he gave another laugh that he tried to swallow. "What?" Rose tilted her head to the side. What was he laughing about now.

"I've never seen you without heels." The Doctor was looking down at her with a playful grin. "You're short."

"Oi!" She slapped his chest as she moved past him. "I'm not that short." Rose grabbed the kettle off the stove, tucked her shoes under her arm, and filled it with water. Then she put it on a burner and set it to heating.

"I like short." Again, the words came out of his mouth, but his eyes said he was screaming at himself inside to shut up. He always did that, and it made the signals he had been flashing at her all week and especially tonight even more confusing.

"I'm just gonna run upstairs and change." She pointed at the stairs and then looked at his tuxedo. "Um, Jack keeps a couple sets of clothes in one of the guest rooms, if you want to change?"

The Doctor's face twitched just a bit, a slight grimace. "Oh, does Jack stay over a lot then?"

Was he jealous? That would solidify some of his behaviors this week. She really hoped it would. Rose had to admit she liked him. She liked his personality, his work ethic, his sense of humor, and even the rude side that came out when he felt disgruntled or confused. She really, really liked that perfect head of hair, the smattering of freckles across his cheeks, and he way he had held her so close back at the dinner. "Not really, but sometimes he crashes here when he's had too much to drink. We're not." She felt her cheeks flush. "Like that, if that's what you're asking. Our, um, tastes don't exactly coincide well enough for that."

"Oh, well." The Doctor ran a hand through his perfectly tousled hair, making it stick up in the front. "I wasn't asking. I mean, it isn't any of my business." So he was jealous, and now embarrassed that she had called him on it. This could be good, really, really good.

"It could be your business." There, that would do it. Rose let those words hang in the air and made her way past him to the stairs. She could very nearly feel his eyes burning into her exposed back.

Once in her room, she put her shoes back in their box and tucked them away on the top shelf of her closet. She shed her gown and zipped it with the expertise gained from years of Jackie lectures into the dry cleaner bag hanging on the rack. Now she had a choice, overtly seductive and break her year long abstinence streak or casual and take things slow. Rose ran her hand along the knobs to the separate drawers and pulled the one on the right.

She shimmied the stretchy black yoga pants with pink stars along the band and pulled a matching pink fitted shirt over her bare chest. She checked her reflection in the mirror, casual and yet tempting. It covered, but defined her body enough to draw attention. She let her hair down, combing her fingers through the curls, and considered washing off her makeup. She thought better of it, and smiled at her reflection.

The kettle whistled from downstairs, snd she hurried to the kitchen to get it. The Doctor was already pouring the water into two mugs, and he had apparently found Jack's clothes. The tuxedo had been traded for a pair of grey sweatpants and a Torchwood workout shirt. They were a bit baggy on him, but it looked good. She glanced at the clock on the microwave. It wasn't even ten yet. "Thank you, Doctor." Rose took the mug he offered and smiled at him.

"You're welcome, Rose." He booped her nose with one finger and walked past her to look around. "So you live here? On your own?"

"Yep." She followed him into the dining area, sipping her tea slowly. "I like it. The city gets so noisy at night." Her house was pretty large, comparatively, but Rose hadn't squandered money on fancy decorations or priceless knickknacks. She had wanted it to feel warm, comforting.

"I like it too." He paused in the living room, to examine a picture of her and her five year old brother Toni building a sandcastle on the beach in the Bahamas. "You can tell a lot about who someone really is by their home." The Doctor brushed a finger across a clay sculpture. It was meant to be a bird, but that was hard to tell. One of the kids at the Academy had made it for her, when she spent time filling in for the art teacher.

"And what does mine say about me?" Rose was curious as to what the Doctor thought about her. The man had a gob that didn't stop sometimes, but most of what he said was just talk. It would be interesting to see how he was outside of the numbers and statistics and experiments.

"That you love your family." He turned to look at her. "But you don't feel like you belong." The hammer hit the nail with such precision that she felt it in her gut. "That you want to help people, but you don't really care about the money or the praise. It's just a perk for you." There was a sadness in his eyes that made her want to hide, but also kept her from looking away. "You were born with the world on a silver platter, all of the trimming and trappings that any princess would envy, and yet you'd trade it all just so you didn't have to hide who you are."

Rose couldn't help the gasp that squeaked out of her throat. "Stop." She turned away from him. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. This man had barely known her three weeks, and one moment of vulnerability had let him figure it all out. She went back to the kitchen, setting her mug down next to the sink and tried to catch her breath.

"Rose, I'm sorry." The Doctor's voice was soft and cautious. "I didn't mean to upset you. I shouldn't have said anything. I should have-"

Rose turned, clenching her fists to keep them from trembling. "You should have what, Doctor? You should have lied?" That would have been worse, far worse, she realized. After all, isn't this why she hadn't had any luck with dating. Nobody ever saw Rose, they just saw her family name, her perfect smile, and cool confidence. "Never, ever lie to me."

He set his mug down on the counter and seemed to be having that internal war again. "I'm gonna regret this." She thought she heard him murmur, but his voice was so soft that she barely registered the words. They were completely blocked out when he crossed the kitchen in three strides and took her face in his hands.

The Doctor's lips tasted like wine and tea. It was an odd flavor, but that observation was pushed away by the way his tongue flicked across the seam of her lips. Rose couldn't stop the sigh that escaped her lips as she parted them and felt his tongue brush against hers. Her eyes fluttered shut, and she slid her hands up his chest to loop them around the back of his neck. He lifted her up, almost effortlessly, and sat her on the counter top.

This felt good, as close to perfection as she had ever experienced. His hands never strayed far from her face or her hair, always maintaining a courteous distance away from anything that could be considered groping. Rose lost herself in the kiss, the way their lips slipped and pressed together so flawlessly. She couldn't help herself from burying her fingers in that magnificent hair, letting the soft strands slip though her grasp.

When he pulled back, she felt breathless and dizzy. Never had she been so thoroughly kissed in her life. It was, she realized, the first time someone had kissed Rose, and not Rose Tyler. "That was..."

"Probably against about a million rules." The Doctor looked about as dazed as she felt. "I'm pretty sure I saw something about fraternization in the employee handbook."

"Only in regards to management and employees." Rose licked her lips, letting the taste of him explode on her tongue again. She normally worked hard to keep her enhanced senses in check, but she let them flare to life."Last time I checked, we're partners." He looked worried, like he was unsure if he had done the right thing. He wasn't pulling away though.

"So we are." His lips twisted up into a smirk. "I almost forgot." The Doctor trailed a thumb across her cheek, and she felt her skin flush. "You are so much more than I ever expected." His head dipped again for a soft brush against her lips. "But I think that maybe we should do this slowly."

That was a first. If Rose had ever brought another man into her home and kissed them like that, they'd already be trying to get her into bed. Yet, he was the one setting up the boundaries. There was that delicious scent again, barely there on his skin. She could only describe it as an otherness, that he was more out of place than her. "I'm fine with slow." This was too good to rush, too tempting to risk breaking.

"I should probably find a way home." The Doctor's fingers gripped her waist gently, helping her down to the floor. "See, the head of my project at work is a stickler about punctuality."

"Oh, what a shame." Rose giggled at the joke. It was nearly time for her to crawl into bed. She wondered how he'd respond. "How about you crash here, and I'll make sure you get to work on time."

His eyebrows disappeared disappeared into his hairline and he stammered. "I thought we agreed to move slow."

"John Noble." Rose covered her heart with a palm. She covered the amusement bubbling up at his shocked look by feigning offense. "Are you implying that I'm the kind of woman who would let a man take me to bed on the first night?"

"No! Nononono." He ran a hand through his hair and turned an adorable pink. "I just.." he growled under his breath. Then his brow furrowed. "Wait, are you making fun of me?"

"For such an intelligent man." Rose rolled her eyes and took his hand. "You are a bit thick sometimes." She turned out the lights as she went, pausing to reset the alarm in the hall, and then up the stairs. She pushed open the door to her room, and dropped his hand when he stepped inside. She looked over at him, and he had shoved his hands into the pocket of the sweatpants. "I'm gonna go shower. You get some sleep." She pointed towards the bed. "Or you can take one of the guest rooms."

Rose left him to decide, hoping nervously he'd been waiting when she got out. She showered a bit quicker than normal, but still took the time to wash her face clean and towel dry her hair. She slipped back into her clothes and peeked into the room. The Doctor was laying under her blankets, eyes closed, and one arm over his face. She kept quite as she made her way across the room, set her alarm for five thirty, that way she'd get him home in time to change, and crawled in next to him. She was teetering in that state of nearly asleep but still aware, when he rolled over and draped an arm over her waist and pressed a kiss to the back of her hair. Feeling warmer and more at home than she had since she was a child, she let dreams pull her under.

Her alarm clock said she had only been out three hours, when a mumbling woke her. She was confused for a moment until she remembered who was twitching in the bed behind her. "Her suit is compromised." His voice sounded panic. "Get her into a decon shower."

"Doctor." Rose rolled over to where he was laying on his stomach, his fingers clenched in the pillow. "Doctor, wake up."

"Time Travel." His hand twitched. "Back before breakfast, Alpha one six five." His leg jerked, bumping against her kneed. He mumbled more jibberish into the sheets below him.

Rose fought back a yawn and laugh at the same time. She pressed a kiss to his cheek and whispered softly. "Doctor, you're just dreaming."

"Rose Tyler, the wolf who saved them all." That made her pause. Bad Wolf was the nickname she'd earned, for her fierce devotion to her companies and the way she protected the students of the Academy.

"Shhhhh." Rose drew a shaky breath and stroked his cheek. Is that how he saw her, how he interpreted the work she was devoting. She wasn't trying to save anybody, just give them a place in a society that could sometimes be so cruel to new and wonderful things. "Doctor, relax." She moved her hand down to rub his arm gently. "I'm right here."

The twitching stop, and his arm tensed. "Rose?" His arm moved, as if searching for something. She wriggled under it and hummed in contentment as he pulled her close. "I don't to lose you." His words were half whispered, and his breath broke over her hair.

"Then don't let me go." She didn't know why she responded like that. She only knew that for the first time in her life, she had found someone that she didn't have to pretend for. The Doctor didn't respond. He only squeezed her gently and cradled her against his chest. The abnormal double beat of his hearts was comforting, and soon she was lost in dreams of her own: an empty ballroom where the Doctor let her dance.


	7. Chapter 7

1 March 2010

The Doctor knew he was an idiot, a great, big, time traveling, banana loving idiot. Yet, he wasn't sure that he cared about his idiocy. He was still working towards his end goal, but at the same time was bringing about a change to the world, a change that would pave the way for him to be here. His idiocy didn't stem from that though. It stemmed from his risky relationship with Rose Tyler.

At first, he had been afraid of how letting it happen would hurt him. He knew how her story ended. It was taught in every history book in every school around the world. It wasn't until he had seen her mask fall away, been allowed inside her home that he had decided making her last four months in this world happy all around. If his hearts broke, what did that compare to her life being taken. The Doctor could make her feel like she belonged, and he swore he would.

He dropped his briefcase on his desk and quickly logged into his computer and picked up his mobile to send a text to his kill switch, the program designed to wipe the world clean of any trace of him when he left. If he didn't send the reset code every day, it would activate. Then, like he had every day, he crossed his office to the door leading to hers, so they could enjoy breakfast together.

The Doctor stopped just inside her office, a twinge of jealousy flaring for a moment. Rose's desk chair had it's back to him, but her left hand was visible, gripping the arm rest. A man was bent over her, only the back of his blonde hair visible above the brown leather seat. Rose made a soft hiss, and he straightened holding a vial of blood. "Oh, Miss Tyler, looks like your partner is here." He picked up an empty vial and bent again.

"Good Morning Doctor." Rose called, and he came around her desk. The blonde man was holding the other vial as it filled. "This is Doctor Saxon. Doctor Saxon, this is Doctor John Noble."

"Pleasure, I'm sure." Doctor Saxon replied, standing up and sliding the vial into a cooler. Then he wrapped Rose's arm up swiftly. "I'll let you two get to work, and I will send that prescription you requested to the pharmacy Ma'am." He passed the Doctor and gave him a friendly smile. "Have a good day Doctor."

"Likewise, Doctor." He replied as the man stepped out. "What was that all about?" He smiled as Rose stood and made her way over to the sitting area where breakfast was waiting.

"I donate three vials of blood a week for research. Doctor Saxon is head of the infectious disease team, so he does my draws when he is here." She snagged a bagel and pulled his hand down to sit across from her. The Doctor really wanted to press a kiss to her cheek, but they had agreed to remain professional at work. The name suddenly clicked in his head.

"Saxon? That his first name or his last?" He picked up a banana, his favorite, and began peeling it.

"His full name is Harold Saxon." Rose spread some cream cheese on her bagel and picked up her tablet. "He's married to my friend Lucy."

"I haven't seen him around." He took a bite, trying to keep his cool. It didn't mean anything. There could be a dozen H.S. working for Torchwood. Just because he worked in the infectious disease department didn't mean anything. Even if he did, the Doctor couldn't just confront him. He couldn't change the past, not without destroying the future.

"Oh, his main office is in Cardiff." Rose shook her head and frowned at something on the tablet. "He comes here once a week to meet with the board. The last few weeks he's been on vacation in France."

Cardiff? The Cardiff Tower, where the explosion would happen, where the world would see the Evolved and all of their potential. It was him, and the Doctor couldn't deny it. "I see." His appetite had suddenly gone, and he had to force himself to stay seated. "Why do you donate though? Wouldn't I have seen your names in the files?"

Rose laughed and put her tablet down. "Doctor Saxon keeps a strict coding for his donors, and only he knows who is who. All I know is that they are labeled by age groups. I'm in group Alpha."

"Huh." The Doctor forced himself to take another bite. What were the chances Rose could be that person, the mysterious A165? He had seen the results from that person, the way their blood was not only immune to the coming virus, but also aggressively defensive against many other viruses and bacteria. The development team was already working to create a vaccine from that person to make the HIV vaccine. It would become mandatory vaccine for his time, one he had gotten on his fifth birthday.

"Whatever you're worrying about, don't." He looked up to see Rose watching him with soft eyes. "I can almost see the wheels in your mind working full speed. We're just friends."

She thought he was jealous. Well, he had been at first, but not now. He was feeling helpless. "I know, I was just trying to remember everything about Alpha group." That wasn't a full lie. "Trying to figure out which one you are." He snapped his cheeky smile back into place, and she tossed a grape at him. "So, what's on the agenda today? Our schedules were surprisingly blank."

"We have a meeting Harriet Jones, to let her know exactly why we've set up a request to meet with the UNIVERSE ." Rose shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. The Prime Minister wasn't a big deal? "And if that goes well, tomorrow we'll be meeting with Her Majesty."

The Doctor nearly spilled his coffee. "The Queen? You didn't think to tell me?!"

Rose smirked and arched an eyebrow at him, like a teacher about to scold her worst student. "I did try, but you kept distracting me."

So that's what she kept trying to talk about last night after dinner. He felt himself blush. Things had gotten very heated the night before in her car when she dropped him off. They hadn't taken that step yet, but last night had toed the line. "Oops." He did his best to look contrite.

"That's an understatement." She looked down at his feet. "At least you worse the black ones today." Both of their mobiles beeped, alerting them to a notification that the meeting room was ready. "Come on."

The conference room down the hall was guarded by a heavy branch of security. Captain Harkness was already inside the room, standing in a corner looking seemingly relaxed and imposing all at once. The Doctor slid into his seat and pulled up folder that held the summaries of information they were compiling to present. Rose was adjusting her suit coat and slowly slipping into her work persona. He always admired the way she was able to turn each of her sides on and off at will.

The sound of movement made them turn, and Harriet Jones stepped into the room with one of her aides. "Miss Tyler, Doctor Noble." She gave them a solid smile and stuck out a hand. "I'm Harriet Jones, Prime Minister."

"Yes, Ma'am." Rose shook her hand and swallowed. She was obviously holding back a snicker.

"We know who you are, Ma'am." The Doctor shook hers next and gestured to the seat he had pulled out for her. "Welcome to Torchwood."

"Thank you for inviting me." Her eyes moved to Rose, but his beautiful woman didn't flinch a bit. She stood with easy confidence, shoulders back and chin up a bit. "Even if it was such a secretive request." Harriet settled into a chair, pulling the tablet the Doctor passed her into her hand.

"Well, this isn't something we are ready for the news to get wind if just yet." The Doctor took his position next to the laptop again, waiting for Rose's cue to send the information.

"You know we requested a meeting with the UN in July. As Torchwood is based here in the UK, we felt it was appropriate to let our government know exactly what we would be presenting." Rose nodded to the Doctor, and he began sending the files to the laptop. "This project started eighteen years ago, with a six year old girl's annual check up."

He clicked the very first file, Rose's blood work from her childhood that showed she was different. "The doctors realized that she was unique, thought she was an anomaly, a fluke in the human genetic code." He added as she paused to gauge the Harriet's reaction.

"Her parents, afraid that she would be turned into an experiment, decided to approach Torchwood with an offer. The Institute was struggling. The global recession was impacting them severely, but Pete Tyler made them an offer. Partner with Vitex and keep everything about his daughter's medical files secret, and he would channel the funds needed to get them back on the world stage." Rose met the Prime Minister's eyes squarely, and the Doctor felt a surge of pride at her courage. Here she was, baring her life long secret to someone who had the power to shut this all down.

"But she wasn't unique or a fluke." He interjected, sending the summary of the slowly growing population that had been uncovered. "Over the years, Torchwood found more and more people like her, human, but more than human." Harriet was watching them both with unwavering attention, her eyes bouncing back and forth between them.

"We here at Torchwood refer to them as the Evolved. They are the next step in the chain of human evolution, but we have kept them secret." Rose drew a breath. "Because some of them have very special abilities, abilities that people with evil intentions may seek to manipulate. We have worked effortlessly to teach them how to control their abilities, to blend in with society and avoid detection. They all just want to live normal lives, and we want them to as well." He watched, feeling a bit of anticipation as his wonderful partner slowly unbuttoned her suit coat.

"So, you're telling me that Torchwood has been keeping an entire population of mutants from the detection of every global power in the world?" Harriet had begun flipping through the reports, reading the summaries of the unique powers and abilities listed throughout.

"Not mutants, Ma'am." The Doctor interjected. "Humans, but evolved. They are all born to perfectly ordinary parents, and we haven't quite figured out what causes the spark that forms the change in the womb." Even one hundred and fifty years in the future, they didn't know. Society had just come to accept that it was happening.

"Reports and papers are all well and good, but I need proof." Harriet set her tablet down, and before the Doctor or she could blink Jack attacked Rose.

The air in the room grew heavy and hot, as the energies emitted from the electronics and the friction of every object in the room was channeled. The air around Rose warped, and it funneled into what looked like heat on asphalt. Jack bounced off of the shimmering air, and then flew backward into the wall with a groan.

The Prime Minister leapt to her feet as her guards ran in, but when Rose knelt to help the Captain up, Harriet waved them out. "That was incredible, but why did you have to have him attack you. A simple display would be fine."

The Doctor spoke up with a smile. "Rose's ability to channel energy is strictly defensive. She can only do that when she feels threatened. Her other abilities are more subtle, enhanced senses."

"What about you Doctor? What is special about you?" Harriet settled back into her chair, her eyes cautious but full of awe.

"Doctor Noble has two hearts and brachial tubes instead of lungs, which give him increased endurance and a musculoskeletal system that allows him to do tasks that most other men his size could not." Rose was buttoning her coat and smiling now. "He also has the highest intelligence ever tested in recorded history."

The Prime Minister leaned back in her chair, her fingers steepled under her chin. "Nobody outside of Torchwood knows about this, except myself and my aid here?"

"No ma'am." Rose shook her head, her fingers resting on the tablet that she had left untouched. "And we'd like to keep it that way until the U.N. summit."

"Why? Why not announce it now? This information is remarkable." Harriet stood and held onto the back of her chair. "The British Government would make sure our citizens, evolved or not, are protected."

"We have the schools in other countries, and we are looking to expand more." The Doctor shook his head. "Japan, the United States, and smaller waycenters across the globe. We need to announce it at the U.N. in full light of the world, so that they do not leave until they agree to treat them all as equal to their other citizens."

"This is above me." Harriet sighed and shook her head. "The two of us can keep quiet, but this is beyond my decision making skills. We all know that the Royal family stays out of politics for the most part, but Her Majesty needs to see this before I can agree to send you with our representatives."

Rose had called it. The Doctor wanted to glance over at her, but professionalism won out. "Whatever you think is necessary, Ma'am." She held out the tablet. "This is a non-disclosure agreement. We need you both to sign it, in agreement that the only person you will discuss this with apart from us is Her Majesty."

"You're definitely your father's daughter." Harriet chuckled and took the tablet. She signed and passed it to her aid.

"So I've been told." Rose gave a wry smile and took the tablet back. "Let me know when you have everything arranged."

"We will. Good day Miss Tyler. Good Day Doctor Noble." Harriet walked out of the room, her face still full of wonder.

"Well that went better than expected." Rose collapsed into a chair and fanned her face. "I'd never been more scared in my life."

"Yeah, well at least you didn't hit a wall." Captain Harkness joked and rubbed his head.

"Oh stop whining." Rose rolled her eyes and began smirked. "You volunteered."

"So what now?" The Doctor was shutting down the files and removing them from the tablet Harriet had been using. "Are we waiting for her permission to move forward, or what, because our schedules are cleared for the rest of the day." He was a bit confused, as to why a meeting this short had nullified their other work.

"I was going to suggest working on a separate, less aggressive presentation for Her Majesty." Rose stood up and arched an eyebrow. "Perhaps going down to the Academy and finding a few students to demonstrate."

The Doctor nodded. That seemed like a good idea, but he had something he really wanted to look into. "You know the students better than me. You do that, and I'll work on sprucing up the technology part."

"That's what I thought you'd say." Rose fixed Jack with a look, and he excused himself from the room. "How about, after lunch we take advantage of our empty schedules and take an early day back at my place." She reached out with one hand to adjust his tie. "The hot tub should be fixed by noon, and my mum just sent over this package of wine and some scotch. Both aged perfectly, and begging to be opened."

The Doctor swallowed, feeling his hearts rates increase at her proximity. He couldn't turn her down, not when she looked at him so invitingly and caught her pouty lower lip between her teeth like that. "Sounds perfect." He let out a breath as she pulled back and flashed him a seductive smile before leaving him standing in the room alone.

He shook himself and turned off the laptop, trying to clear his thoughts as he hurried back to his office. A growing suspicion had been forming in his mind all day, and as he logged in to the computer at his desk, he drew a breath.

His fingers flew over the keyboard, throwing up every concealment code and trace blocking hack he knew. It was easy, on technology so primitive to his own. Once he felt his identity was sufficiently blocked, he tracked down Saxon's record logs and overrode the password. "Gotcha." He whispered to the air, and went searching for the donor records.

Only one donor had been scanned in this morning, at eight fifteen, just after Saxon had left the office. There was no name available, but the age and gender were a perfect fit. There, plain as day was the answer. Rose Tyler was A165. She was the key, the miracle he had hoped for. It would be so easy to just ask her for a vial for his own experiments. The Doctor knew she'd agree, and then he could just disappear back to his time.

But, he had made her a promise, a promise that she didn't even know existed. If Rose Tyler was going to save the Evolved in this time and in his, he was going to make her last four months in this world the best of her life.

 

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here there be fluffy smut

Rose winced slightly as the nurse in the pharmacy pulled the needle from her skin. "How long until it's in full effect."

"This one." The nurse looked at the vial. "Fresh out of production. Forty-eight hours to be on the safe side. You'll need to come back in twelve weeks." The woman placed a bandage over the injection site. "We recommend using a back up method until then."

She nodded and took the box containing a single pill the nurse handed her. "And this backup should be taken within twelve to twenty-four hours, yeah?"

"That's right." The nurse disposed of the needle and smiled. "That's all for now. Have a good day Miss Tyler."

Rose headed out to the main lobby, trying to keep her nerves in check. Between the meeting this morning, going in and handpicking some students for the next meeting, and what she was planning to do next, she was feeling just a bit anxious.

"What's with the bandaid." The Doctor's voice made her start, and he ran a thumb over the tan colored bandage.

"Just a shot. Nothing serious." That was a lie, but she knew he wouldn't press the issue. He never did. Rose would tell him later, if the subject came up.

"Hope you don't mind." He smiled as they made their way out of the lobby to her car. "But I ordered lunch to be delivered. It should get there about the time we do."

Rose felt herself smile, as once they were in the car he leaned over to give her a soft lingering kiss. The anxiety melted away at the softness of his lips, like it always did. She wasn't sure what it was about him, but only a week in and she was already completely besotted. The giddiness on his face told her he was too.

The drive home was pleasantly quiet, and the way he drew circles with his thumb over her knuckles said that he was simply waiting on her to speak first. "How did the reworking of the reports go?" It was the only thought she had in her mind, besides seeing him shirtless in her hot tub.

"It was, fortuitous." He enunciated the word with a cheeky grin that made his hair shake a bit. "Found out some things I had overlooked, and am working on fitting them into the big picture."

"Do you think this is going to work?" Rose had been having doubts about how well the world would take it. She had seen so many movies and read so many books where things like this went wrong. However, she could only voice them to the Doctor. She had to stay undaunted for everyone else. "What we're doing? What if it's too soon-"

"Shush." He squeezed her hand as they pulled into the garage. The Doctor reached up to brush her hair back from her face and gaze into her eyes. "I know without a doubt, this is the exact moment in history when it needs to happen."

The Doctor was funny like that, the way he just knew things would happen in the world, and they did. Just a few days ago, when their Japanese branch had detected some small tremors in China, he had murmured under his breath about an earthquake. The next day an eight point eight quake had struck China. She had joking called him clairvoyant, but he reminded her that he didn't have that ability. Rose just figured it was the way he saw things, analyzed the world, made connections others missed. "We're going to do this, aren't we."

"Rose Tyler." He reached across her to open her door and kiss her forehead. "The world is never going to forget your name, trust me."

Trust him? It always came back to that, from the moment he sauntered into her office and smiled that smile, he had been drawing her to trust him. Rose had done so, without much reservation, because there was just something about the Doctor that said he was not in this for himself. She slid out of the car, and he was already keying in the code to shut down her alarm system. She almost asked how he knew, but of course his genius brain had memorized her punches the few times she saw.

"I'm gonna run up and put on something more suitable. You said the food should be here soon?" Rose kicked off her shoes and headed up the stairs after he agreed to wait for the food. By the time she had wriggled into her outfit of choice, pulled a pink satin robe over it, and hurried downstairs he was plating food from her favorite Italian restaurant. "Smells good."

"Eat." He slid her a plate and she climbed up on a barstool. She hated using the dining room. "You hardly ate breakfast and your barely touched your dinner last night. Eat."

Rose stuck her tongue out at him. She had been a ball of nerves last night and this morning, and she still was. Still, she devoured her late lunch, some sort of fettuccini, while he did as well. This was one of the things she adored about him. With the Doctor, she didn't have to be proper and poised and put together all the time. She could just be herself. "Thank you for this." She set her fork down once she was full, not earning to over indulge.

"You're welcome." The Doctor scooped up her plate and carried it to the sink. "Go do whatever you were planning with the hot tub and the drinks. I'll clean up here."

Rose didn't miss the way his cheeks and ears flushed at his comments, but still, she stepped through the living room to the screened in deck area that surrounded the pool and hot tub. It was a bit chilly out, being early spring, but the sun was shining and soon the water was bubbling invitingly. She ducked into the pantry, when he disappeared upstairs to change out of his pinstripes, and got the bottle of scotch, wine, and glasses for them each. By the time she had everything set up and poured, he was coming out the sliding doors, wearing nothing but his deep blue boxers.

"Jack didn't have any swim trunks to fit me." He pulled at his ear and shivered a bit. "So guess this will have to do."

Rose was not complaining. He looked absolutely delicious, and when he flashed her a flirty smile she almost jumped him right there. "Get in, before you freeze." She laughed as he lowered himself into the hot water and hissed at the heat. She froze for a moment, feeling nervous about her outfit of choice. Steeling herself, she untied the robe and let it slide to the stones. When she looked at his face, his jaw had dropped. She had forgone a swimsuit, opting instead for a red lacy bra with matching cheeky boy shorts. They covered just as much as a bikini would, but were more enticing.

"Red is definitely your color." The Doctor stammered as she stepped into the water with him and took a seat on the stone ledge. "Yep, definitely your color."

She bit her lip as she held up each bottle. "Wine or scotch?" He nodded at the scotch and she poured it into the glass and passed it to him. With her own wine in hand, she scooted over to wriggle under his arm. He smelled amazing, as always, and the feeling of the alcohol and heat and his skin against hers eased away the stress of the world.

Rose had never given much thought to finding someone right now, not with so much going on her her life, but the way she felt when they touched was something she'd never experienced. Feeling her feminine side slowly unfurling inside of her, in a way she had suppressed for the last year, she turned her face against his chest to look up at him. The Doctor was watching her, like he was memorizing her face, and it was that look that made her decision.

She set her nearly empty glass aside, took his from his fingers and set it down too, then stroked his cheek gently. His eyes fluttered shut, the long lashes brushing his freckles, and she closed hers as their lips met. Oh, it was wonderful, like coming home during a snow storm and changing into freshly laundered pajamas. His fingers skimmed lightly along her arm, matching the gentle touches of his tongue to hers. It was so easy, inherently natural, for her to move in the water and straddle his lap.

The Doctor didn't tense up or break away like he had been doing before. One of his hands stroked down her side to her waist, and the other came up to undo the clip she had holding her hair up in a twist. He sucked softly on her bottom lip as he combed her hair out, and Rose felt warmth not from the water or the wine begin to glow low in her belly.

She broke away just long enough to curl her tongue along his jaw and plant an open mouth kiss where it met his ear. The sigh he made broke across her neck, as his lips pulled softly at her ear. "Are you sure this is what you want?" His voice was low and husky, making her heart stutter at the question.

"Yes." Rose kissed her way back to his lips, and this time his hands moved. They were still gentle, but now more sure, moving with a purpose. The polite, imaginary lines he had seemed to establish on her body dissipated, and when one nimble hand slid up to run over her lace covered breast, she couldn't hold back the gasp of approval. She tried to touch him, to run her own fingers along his skin, but he seemed determined to focus on her.

The hand at her waist slid down to grasp her rear, his fingers tightening and pressing her up until his tongue was able to press against the red material cover her right nipple. Rose held his shoulders for support, feeling dampness that had nothing to do with the hot tub pool between her thighs as he nipped delicately through the fabric. Then she felt him undo the clasp along her back, and the straps slid down her arms. She tossed the bra aside, and lowered herself back down so she could taste his lips. "You are too perfect." She whispered as his right hand trailed down her hip to her thigh.

"I think you've got that backwards." The Doctor chuckled and inched his fingers up the inside of her thigh. "This all right?"

Rose trailed her nails softly down his chest. "If it wasn't I'd stop you." She nipped at that pouty lip, pulling it softly with her teeth, and pressed her hand lower. Her fingers grazed against his evident approval at the same time his dipped inside the hem of her panties.

She gasped at his fingers slowly trailing up through her curls, and slid her own hand to the side to dip into the convenient opening of his boxers. He bucked into her touch, and pressed a thumb to the sensitive button of nerves at the apex of her folds. Rose wrapped her fingers around his length, giving small strokes until his touch disappeared and he pulled her hand away. Rejection flooded through her, until he pulled back to smile down at her. "Inside, the neighbor is watching."

Rose glanced to her left and found that her only neighbor, a lovely older woman who sometimes baked her cookies, was indeed staring at them from her kitchen window in shock. "I need a taller fence." She giggled, but before she could move he had turned her in his arms and was stepping out of the water.

They didn't even make it to the bedroom. The Doctor yanked a blanket she had folded over the back of the couch to the floor, and lowered her to it. "Look at you." He trailed a finger down her ribs to her thigh and back up. Before she could respond he had gripped her panties and was pulling them down her legs. His lips followed suit, but she stopped him.

"I need you." It was like her words were a switch, because his entire demeanor changed. He stripped off his wet pants and was over her in an instant. One of those eyebrows arched, and his eyes asked her the question. "Ive got it covered." Rose smiled and pulled him down for a kiss as she wrapped a leg around his waist. He shifted just a bit, and then he was inside of her.

It had been so long, and he was above average on this mark, so the sensation of being slowly stretched and filled made her whimper in delight. It was wonderful, how he took his time, letting her enjoy the languorous movement. The Doctor's lips broke from hers again. "You feel amazing." His hips pulled back slightly, making her gasp, and then he thrust in again. "So perfect, Rose."

"So do you." Rose needed him to keep moving, to give her the delicious friction she was craving. "Doctor, please." All coherent words flew from her mouth after that. He was moving, hands and lips everywhere at once.

She arched under him, matching his rhythm with upward presses of her hips and scraping her nails across his back when he gave particularly deep and angled thrusts. It wasn't long before her body, denied such thorough attentions, began to climb towards the edge. He must have been able to tell, from the way she was clinging to him and mewling his name into his shoulder and lips, because one thumb came down and began circling and pressing along the sensitive bud between them.

"John." Rose felt the spring beginning to coil tighter low in her body. "Doctor, don't st-"

"Shhh, my Rose." His touches and thrusts didn't stop, but they grew more intense, more concentrated. "Just be happy and feel it."

She relaxed under him, doing as she was told for once. She understood what he meant when the pleasure grew much more intense without her need to keep up with him. His fingers squeezed tighter on her thigh, and his thumb flicked just right. Rose had never been one to cry out when she flew over the edge, but the intensity of her release was too much to hold back. Stars swirled behind her eyelids, and an ocean roared in her ears. She felt like she was spinning, falling, and soaring all at once.

She felt the Doctor bury himself deep inside of her, holding himself there by her hips, and he gasped her name. There was a space of breaths, and he lowered himself back over her, an arm on either side of her head, and kissed her deeply. Rose was too spent to move, so she lowered her leg slowly back to the floor and then curled her fingers against his sideburns. "You make me happy, Doctor."

"Then I'm keeping my promise." His forehead rested against hers. She wanted to ask what promise, but she was feeling too content to worry about his riddles. For the first time, her 'perfect' life felt perfect to her.

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope I didn't screw up the etiquette in this chapter. I'm an American okay. I had to google how to act with the Queen.

2 March 2010

The Doctor watched Rose pace the hallway restlessly. He had seen her nervous before, but never like this. The phone call had come at five pm on the dot yesterday, and she had tossed and turned all night. It was beyond unusual, unheard of even in his time, for such a snap meeting to be arranged with the Queen. They were waiting on the students to arrive and then to be let in to see Queen Elizabeth. There had not been time to set up the security for at Torchwood, so they had been driven in to the Palace this morning.

"Right this way kids." The voice of Jack could be heard and they turned around. Three of the top students at the Academy were looking just as nervous as Rose, smoothing their skirts or suit coats as they came.

It was like magic watching Rose's nerves disappear to be replaced by the soothing smile she always reserved for the students. "You all remember what you have to do right?" They all nodded, and the Doctor had to admit she had chosen well.

Miranda, a fifteen year old girl with doe eyes and ginger hair, had the ability to channel the energy in the air around her into a ball of light. Sebastian, a seventeen year old with dark hair and blue eyes, was telekinetic. Natalie, a nine year old girl with platinum blonde hair and lavender eyes, was a touch telepath. While she couldn't read thoughts word for word, she could get flashes of images in peoples minds when they touched. She constantly wore gloves and long sleeves to avoid contact while she learned to shut people out.

A polite and yet all business voice spoke from behind them. "Her Majesty is ready to receive you. Please follow me."

The Doctor caught Rose's eye one last time and mouthed "breathe" and then fell in step behind the students. She smiled and led the children after the woman down the hall to a set of ornate doors. He clutched the case containing the tablets in his hand as they entered the room.

The Queen was standing at a well polished table with a small group of four people with her. She smiled kindly as the group filed into the room, and gave their respective bows and curtsies. "Welcome, Miss Tyler, Doctor Noble, and children."

"Thank you for inviting us, Your Majesty." Rose spoke with a softer edge to her voice than she normally would, and the Doctor had to admire the way she had managed to merge heiress and director into the perfect persona.

"The Prime Minister has informed me on the situation that Torchwood has been handling, and your request to attend the United Nations summit in July." The queen sat down at the head of the table. "I understand that the secrecy involved has been only to keep these claims out of public eye. I am not pleased that such a large matter, if it does in fact exist, has been kept from me by an organization founded by the crown."

"Please, Your Majesty." The Doctor placed a hand on Natalie's sweater covered jump, careful to keep from touching her skin. The poor girl looked nearly ready to cry. "If I may, these are not claims. It is a very real fact, one that is growing every year. We have brought reports, research, statistics, and many other scientifically based evidences to present to you."

"So I was informed, Doctor Noble." She gestured to a suited man next to her, snd he took one of the tablets from the Doctor. "I would very much like to see this information, but first, I was told you had a demonstration for me." Her eyes traveled to the children, taking them in one by one. "Charts and numbers can be fabricated. I would like to see these students."

"Yes Ma'am." Rose clasped her hands in front of her skirt and smiled her politest of smiles. "Each one has a unique ability, and they can best describe them to you."

The queen nodded and turned her eyes first to Natalie. "Come here child. Don't be afraid." Natalie stepped forward and curtsied again, making the queen smile in amusement. "What is your name?"

"Natalie, Your Majesty, Natalie Smith." Her soft voice was trembling in fear and awe.

"What is it that you are capable of, my dear?" Rose shot John a look of panic, as if she thought bringing one of the telepaths was not the best idea.

"I can see pictures in people's minds, Ma'am." Natalie's fair cheeks were flushing pink. "But only if I'm touching their skin."

"Show me." The queen extended a palm to the girl, and waited patiently. Natalie pulled one tiny black glove off and placed a shaking hand against hers. "What do you see?"

"A spring of lavender tied in a white ribbon." Natalie whispered as she pulled her hand away. She hesitated before pulling her gloves back on.

"How extraordinary." The queen patted her now gloved hand and turned to Sebastian. "And you, young man. What is your name?"

"Sebastian Warner, You're Majesty." He gave a short bow of his head.

"And what is your talent?"

"I'm telekinetic, Ma'am." Sebastian swallowed, but didn't let his nerves show otherwise. He stepped forward a bit. "I can move things with my mind."

"I would very much like to see you demonstrate for me, Mister Warner." The Queen removed a brooch from her coat and placed it on the table.

Sebastian's brow furrowed and he raised a hand. With a tilt of his head and a gesture of his fingers, the brooch slid across the rich mahogany top and back to where it was. Then his face relaxed, and he stepped back.

"Absolutely marvelous." The queen picked the brooch up, turning it over in her hand before pinning it back on. "And you, young lady?"

Miranda stepped forward and curtsied. "My name is Miranda, You're Majesty, Miranda White." She drew a breath. "There is no real description for my talent, but it is a type of energy manipulation." She held her hands out in front of her, and began molding the air like clay. Slowly, the air grew brighter until a perfect orb of light shone between their palms, sending the queen's crown into a dazzling display of sparkles. After a moment, she pressed her palms together and the light faded from existence.

"Absolutely beautiful work, Miss White." The queen smiled. Silence fell in the room, as the queen looked at the group. "I would like to come see the Academy at Torchwood." She paused, and the Doctor caught Rose fighting back a smile. His own hearts were thrumming in excitement. He had known how this would go, but the relief from the children was palpable. "Margaret, please escort the students into the hall. I would like to speak with Miss Tyler and Doctor Noble alone."

When there was only adults left in the room, the queen gestured to two chairs across from her. The Doctor pulled Rose's out and then took one himself. Nobody spoke, as the queen reviewed the information on the tablet. It was only out of etiquette sake that the Doctor did not reach out to touch Rose's arm. "This information is impeccable." The queen finally spoke. "It is no wonder that Torchwood has been keeping this a secret."

"We apologize, Ma'am." Rose spoke respectfully, and the Doctor refrained from interjecting that there was nothing to apologize for. "We simply wished to help these individuals learn how to control their abilities so they could live normal lives."

"I do see that." The queen lowered the tablet to the table. "I also agree that presenting this to the United Nations as a way to show the world what is happening is the appropriate step." She paused for a moment and then smiled. "I will tell the Prime Minister that you are to attend the summit in July, with the full support of the Crown."

"Thank you, You're Majesty." The Doctor spoke, because he could tell the relief washing through Rose's body was bordering on tears of joy. "For allowing us to come in and for supporting this endeavor."

"I will arrange a tour of the Academy, and I hope to see you both there." The queen stood, and they followed suit. With appropriate bows and curtsies, they were escorted out of the room.

Jack was waiting with the students in the hall, and the Doctor felt his adoration of Rose grow larger as she hugged each of them tightly. "You all were amazing. I'm so proud of you for doing this."

"The van is waiting outside." Jack smiled and clapped the Doctor on the back. "I take it we got the queen's seal of approval."

"Of course we did." The Doctor laughed and returned the gesture. "Rose has been planning this for years. There was no way it was gonna fail."

Rose was a safe distance ahead, so she didn't hear when Jack pulled the Doctor to a brief stop in an empty hall. "Listen, John, Rose doesn't have a big brother, so this talk falls to me." The Doctor didn't even flinch as Jack leaned in closer. "She's happier than I've ever seen her, and I've seen her almost every day since I was seventeen years old. If you ever hurt her, I swear to God, they will never find your body."

The respect he held for the Captain hit a higher level at those words. So, the Doctor nodded and whispered back. "Remember to shoot both hearts." He paused for a moment before smiling and adding. "Or you could slip an aspirin in my tea. I'm deathly allergic."

"I'll keep that in mind Doc." Jack smiled slyly at him, and they hurried to rejoin the group.

Once back at Torchwood, Rose disappeared to go speak with the security team and the Academy. The Doctor sat at his desk staring out the window at the city. His mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, and he wasn't sure exactly which to focus on. It pained him to no end, aware of the fact that somewhere in Cardiff Saxon was probably working hard to perfect the virus, and he could do nothing about it.

He had run a million different scenarios in his head. Each one had come to the same conclusion, that if he intervened the paradox would be devastating. A knock at his door drew his attention. Sarah Jane peeked in and smiled. "There's someone here who wants to see you."

That was odd, nobody had come to visit him in his office before. "Send them in." Little Natalie shuffled into the room wringing her hands.

"Oh hello." The Doctor came around his desk as Sarah Jane closed the door. "Well isn't this a nice surprise." He didn't miss the way her eyes were fixed to the floor. "What's wrong?"

Natalie sniffled and shifted her in her small white shoes. "Miss Rose says you're the best Doctor in the world."

"Well, I'm sure she thinks so." He guided her to the cushiony black couch and pulled s tissue from his pocket. "Are you feeling bad?" Natalie nodded, tucking the silver blonde hair behind her ears. "Where? Does your tummy hurt, or your head?" He dug into his pocket for his stethoscope or penlight out of habit, but of course they weren't there.

"No, not bad like that." She looked up at him, her startling lavender eyes puffy and read from crying. "I don't want to be a freak anymore. Can you fix me?"

The Doctor's hearts shattered at her words. He hurried to kneel down in front of her and swallowed back a groan of despair. "Oh, love, you are not a freak. Who called you that?"

"I heard it." Natalie sniffled again and wiped her nose on the tissue. "The lady at the palace, the one who took us in the hall. She touched my head, and I heard her call us freaks."

"Come here." The Doctor held out his arms and sat on the floor. The little girl crawled into his lap. "She just doesn't understand. Sometimes, when people don't understand something they get scared." He rubbed her back gently. "What are you scared of?"

"Spiders." Natalie shuddered in his arms, and he gave a chuckle.

"Did you know, there is a species of spider called jumping spiders, and they eat venomous spiders." Natalie shook her head as more tears leaked out. He took the tissue and dabbed her cheek dry. "And sometimes, they put drops of water on their heads like little hats."

"That's silly." Natalie giggled at the idea. Her soft laugh made him smile.

The Doctor missed working with his pediatric patients. They were always the best. "Do you think you'd be scared of a jumping spider now?" She shook her head again. "Because you understand them just a bit."

"So I'm not a freak?" Natalie's eyes were a bit brighter, more hopeful.

"Not even close." He smiled at her and gave her a gentle squeeze. "I think you're absolutely brilliant."

"Miss Rose was right." Natalie gave him a watery smile and threw her arms around his neck. The hug was only three seconds long, but it wasn't until she pulled away that he realized their cheeks hand been touching. "Doctor John." She gasped in shock. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to look." She wrung her gloved fingers and looked down.

Panic coursed through him at her words. the Doctor hoped she hadn't seen anything too revealing. "What did you see."

"Lot and lots of sick people." Natalie frowned. "It was scary. Was it a nightmare?"

The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief. He had been thinking of the Atrium, of a little blonde girl her age that had died in his arms. "Yes, I had a nightmare last night."

"I should probably get back to class." Natalie stood up and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Thank you, Doctor John."

"You come see me anytime, Natalie. My office is always open." He let her out and leaned against the door. He had almost blown it.

"You're great with kids." Rose's voice drew his gaze to the door that joined their offices. "I was going to ask if you were coming over to my parent's for dinner, but I didn't want to interrupt."

The Doctor smiled at her, feeling his cheeks burn a bit. "I'm the best Doctor in the world, huh?" He managed to chuckle and tugged at his ear. "You know, if you keep talking me up like that, I may just develop an ego."

"Like you don't already have one." Rose laughed and shook her head. "Are you coming to dinner or not?" Of course he was. He'd do anything to keep that look on her face.


	10. Chapter 10

17 March 2010

When Rose's mum had called the night before to tell her that Lucy Saxon had announced she was pregnant, she was so excited for her friends. She had known they were having difficulty conceiving, but they must have finally succeeded. The Doctor had seemed a bit off about the whole matter, but Rose thought it might be because he didn't know them that well.

She sat at her desk, anxious for Harry to come in for her weekly blood draw, and adjusted the basket of celebratory gifts she had arranged: a bottle of Harry's favorite scotch, a box of hand rolled cuban cigars, and a voucher for a weekend long trip to Lucy's favorite spa in Switzerland.

"Doctor Saxon is here, Rose." Sarah Jane's voice came over the intercom on her desk.

"Send him in!" Rose was giddy with excitement, and when the door opened she stood up. "Harry! Good Morning!"

"Good Morning, Rose." He gave her a smile, but it seemed forced.

"Congratulations." She stepped around her desk, intending to hug him, but his smile dropped.

"The baby's not mine." He mumbled, his eyes landing on the basket of gifts. "My divorce lawyers are already working on the papers."

Rose jerked at the news, and the pain in his eyes. "Harry, I'm sorry. I didn't know." She extended a hand to his arm. The news was more of a shock than the pregnancy. Lucy adored Harold, or so she seemed to. "Are you sure. How do you know?"

Harry drew a breath and sat the cooler on the desk. "None of this leaves this room, Miss Tyler. I'm only telling you because..." his voice trailed off. "She's been having an affair. I suspected it, of course, but I couldn't file for divorce without proof or our prenuptial agreement was void."

"You had her followed." Rose knew how it worked, when families as powerful and wealthy as the Saxons and the Coles were involved.

"Yes, and when the private investigator got proof of her and Richard, I confronted her." He shook his head and met Rose's eyes. "She told me she was pregnant, and that I couldn't divorce her until a paternity test was taken."

"You're sure though." Rose hurt inside for the man. He was always so kind to her and to the students. "You two were trying."

"The baby was conceived when I was in Japan." His voice was strangely cold, unlike anything she had ever heard. Then the name clicked in Rose's mind.

"Hang on, Richard Gleeson?" Richard Gleeson was the second Evolved that had been found after herself. His enhanced speed, agility, and strength had secured him a spot working on Rose's parents' personal security team. "How long have they been?"

"A year." Harry shrugged and pointed at the cardigan she was wearing. "I can't draw blood with that on, Rose."

"That can wait." Rose took his elbow and guided him to the sitting area in the corner, where she and John had already had breakfast. "Sit, have some tea, take a breath."

"I'm fine. Honestly." He waved his hand at the spread of food. "The marriage was a sham anyways. "Lucy had to marry to get her grandfather's inheritance. I agreed to it because her father and mine have been friends for years."

That was news to Rose. Their courtship and engagement had been quick, but it hadn't seemed abnormal for either of them. "So, it's more like a blow to your pride then?" The statement made Harry laugh.

"On the money as always, Rose." He tapped the underside of her chin with a finger. "At least this leaves me free to pursue who I want now."

Rose shook her head. Either he was a very good actor, or what he was saying was the truth. She stripped off her cardigan as he retrieved his supplies and went about prepping her for the blood draw. "Where's Doctor Noble. He is usually attached to your hip the last three times I came in."

"He had a meeting this morning with the team creating the pamphlets and presentation for July." Rose explained, wincing as the rubber tourniquet tightened around her bicep and pinched the skin.

"He is a lucky man." Rose couldn't see his face, as he was looking down at her arm. The first vial was filled, and the second was slid into place.

"Oh shush." She rolled her eyes and leaned her head back against the chair. "Some lucky girl will come along and marry you for the right reasons."

"Ha." Harry popped the second vial off and then went to work on the third. "I'm a workaholic who is about to be involved in the biggest scandal of the year."

"You're also intelligent, well spoken, handsome, driven, and I'm guessing about to be a few million richer." Rose rubbed his arm as he taped a piece of gauze of the injection site. They both stood, and she smiled at him in a friendly manner and pulled him into a friendly hug. "Any woman would be lucky to find a man with all that?" She pulled back to arms link to see if he was smiling now.

"Any woman?" His eyebrow arched, and she didn't recognize the twinkle in his eye until he moved. The kiss was hard, as he gripped her hips and pulled her in. Rose gasped at the sudden change, and he caught her lip between his own. She jerked back, heart pounding, and held back a slap. Obviously he had misunderstood her words for advances, and slapping would leave a mark that would raise questions.

"No." Rose touched her lips as rejection washed over his face, making his blue eyes darken. "Harry, I meant any other woman." She swallowed, stepping out of his reach and picked up the basket. "Here, just, keep these and we won't discuss this again, okay?"

"I apologize, Miss Tyler." Harry left the basket in her hands, picked up his cooler, and strode out.

Rose sank into her desk chair and pulled her compact out of her drawer. She looked a bit shocked, but other than that there was no evidence of the miscommunication that had just occurred. She couldn't afford to lose Saxon now, so she brushed it off. She'd simply request that he bring a tech up next time, or that she'd go down to the lab herself.

The rest of her morning was uneventful, and the shock of what had happened was nowhere near her thoughts when she left early to pick up Toni from school for her parents.

"Rosie!" The five year old came speeding down the stairs to his school and leapt into her arms. "I learned a new trick!"

"Really!" Rose kissed his cheek and shifted him to her hip as she walked to her car. Her enhanced sense of smell was picking something up from him she'd never smelt before, but she brushed it away. "Is it a magic trick? Can you make a coin disappear?" He had recently become infatuated with magicians, after her parents had hired one for his birthday."

"Yeah! It's really cool." His hazel eyes sparkled in delight as she buckled him in to his booster seat. "Watch." He lifted his chubby little fingers up in front of him, and squinted really had. His hand shimmered from view and Rose yelped as her head collided with the doorframe.

"Antonio David Tyler!" She rubbed her head and lowered her voice as his hand became visible and his eyes filled with tears. "Did anybody else see this?" Panic flooded her chest as she looked out of the opposite window to see if anyone was watching.

"No ma'am." Little tears leaked down his cheek and he sniffled. "It happened when I was trying to catch a squirrel at recess."

"Oh, baby. Shhh" Rose stroked his cheek, regretting her outburst. He couldn't have known this would happen. Nobody could have. It was always so random. "I'm sorry I yelled, but it's really really important that you don't tell anyone or let anyone see this until you talk to mummy and daddy, okay."

Toni nodded, his plump little lips still quivering. "Is it bad? Am I in trouble?"

Rose cupped his cheek and sighed. "No, sweetheart, you aren't." She kissed his forehead and smiled. "It's just this is super secret. How about we get you home."

He nodded and Rose closed the door to climb into the driver seat. She slid her earpiece into her ear and dialed their father's number. "Hey Rosebud." Pete's voice was muffled, like he was climbing into a car. "I just left Vitex to head over to a board meeting in Research Wing One. Did you get your brother?"

"Yeah, about that." She eased into traffic. "Mum is out with Bev. Get her and get home asap."

"What happened? Is Toni okay?" Pete's voice immediately took on a worried tone.

"I'm a superhero!" Toni yelled from the backseat. Rose looked up in the mirror and he was smiling. "Daddy! I'm a superhero."

"Rose, is he.." Their father's voice dropped low.

"Yep. Like I said. Home now." She turned in the direction of the mansion and looked back at Toni again. His hand was fading in and out of view to his own amusement. "Got to go." She disconnected the call and focused on the drive.

She beat her parents home, and took her brother into the kitchen to feed him a snack and dismissed the nanny who normally watched Toni after school. The little boy was enjoying his pizza bites when her mobile rang.

"Hello?" Rose hadn't even bothered to check the screen.

"Hello beautiful." The Doctor's voice came on the line. Just the sound of it made her relax a bit. "I thought we were working on the speech. Where are you?"

"Family emergency." Rose stepped out of the kitchen so her Brother wouldn't overhear. "Toni discovered he can turn his hand invisible."

"Want me to catch a cab and come over?" She pondered the fact that he didn't sound surprised, but pushed the thought aside. "No. I'm going to talk to him with my parents. How about I come to your place for dinner afterwards?"

"Of course, sweetheart." Rose could hear him typing over the line. "I should be home around six. Be careful driving. There's a storm moving in."

"See you then." The line went dead, and she touched her mobile to her lips.

"Rose! Toni!" Jackie's voice called from the foyer and she went to meet them.

"He's eating." Rose hugged her mother tight and kissed her cheek. "Before you go in there, listen." She looked back over her shoulder towards the hall to the kitchen. "He said nobody saw, but I did sort of yell at him. So he may have lied. Did the school try to call?"

"No." Jackie shook her head. "Nobody called. What did he do?"

"He turned his hand invisible." She worried her lip with her teeth. They hadn't expected him to show abilities, because it was a hit or miss with siblings, even twins. "I didn't want to explain it to him, until you two were here."

"Don't look so panicked, Rose." Pete laughed and kissed her hair. "At least we know what it is now. It's not like when you were little."

"I know." Rose sighed and drew a breath. "It just caught me off guard."

"Mummy!" Toni came speeding down the hall and latched his arms around Jackie's waist.

"Hi baby." Jackie knelt down and brushed his blonde hair back from his forehead. "Daddy and Rosie said you have a magic trick. Can mummy see?"

Toni looked up at Rose, and she nodded. He held out his hand and furrowed his cute little brow. When it vanished and then reappeared, Jackie smiled and kissed his cheek. "Did you know that Rosie has a super special trick too?"

"You do?" His eyes went wide. "Can I see?"

"Well her trick only comes put when she has to defend herself." Pete chuckled. "But, you know how there's a school at Torchwood. You get to go there, and meet other kids who have special tricks just like you do."

"Really!" Toni clapped his hands and did a little dance. "I get to go to a superhero school!" He held his arms out like he was flying and raced down out of the foyer.

Rose realized her worries had been unfounded. She had remembered how terrified her parents had been with her, and had been expecting the same reaction again. Thunder cracked overhead, and she glanced out the curtained glass of the door. "I'm supposed to meet the Doctor for dinner."

"We've got this honey." Pete pressed a kiss to her cheek. "You go on."

"Love you both." Rose hugged them and headed out to her car.

By the time she was back in the city, approaching the street where the Doctor's building was, the storm had let loose. She hurried up the stairs to his door and knocked.

The door opened, and the Doctor was standing there shirtless in just his ever present pinstripe pants. "There you are." He pulled her inside, and placed a soft kiss to her lips. The door closed behind her, and she looped her arms around his neck. This was what she needed, his tender hands trailing along her neck and shoulders. When his tongue drew a lazy circle around hers and curled against the roof of her mouth, she realized that she was most definitely falling in love with this man.

"I needed that." She breathed, when the kiss broke and she pressed her face against his bare chest.

"Stressful day." He squeezed her once before taking her hand and leading her into the small kitchen. Rose had only been to his flat once before, and had asked why it was so sparsely decorated. He had told her he had just moved in, but now there were small changes to the one bedroom home. Namely a few pictures of them on a shelf and a new kitchen table with two chairs. "I made spaghetti."

Rose kicked her shoes off where his were discarded, and settled into a chair. The food was good, and he was rambling on about something that had happened in the lab. "What?" She tilted her head at the last part.

"I said Saxon packed up his tests and had them all shipped to Cardiff." A look Rose could only describe as distaste crossed his face. "Didn't even answer me when I asked him why."

Guilt washed through Rose. She hadn't even thought about the exchange that morning because of Toni, but now it was hanging heavily over their dinner. "Something happened this morning during my blood draw." She admitted, twirling her fork in the last bit of her dinner.

"Rose, what did he do to you?" The Doctor's voice was hard, nearly lethal. "Did he hurt you?"

"He kissed me." Rose chanced a look up at him, and his lips were drawn tight. She swallowed and met his eyes. "I pushed him away. Told him no. I thought that would be the end of it. He was upset, Lucy was having an affair and they're divorcing."

"I see." He looked like he had more to say than that, but was holding back. "That explains why he was so cold towards me then. Well, as long as you told him you're not interested in him." There was a flash in his eyes, maybe of insecurity. "You aren't, are you?"

Rose crinkled her nose. "God no. I'm only interested in one man, and he made me spaghetti for dinner." The smile that slowly crept onto his face made her relax. She had been so nervous that he'd react a bit more aggressively, but he obviously didn't doubt the truth of her words.

"I can't say that I blame him for trying." The Doctor's eyes sparkled as he scooped up her empty plate and carried it to the sink. "I consider myself a very lucky man."

Rose moved over to plunger her hands in the rinse water and hell. "Nah, I'm pretty sure I'm the lucky one Doctor." She elbowed him playfully and grinned up at him. He just smiled back, and then the power flickered off with the crack of thunder.

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter  
> Almost totally smut  
> Enjoy :-)

The Doctor felt panic flare for a moment. He had never experienced a storm cutting out the power before. He took a moment to breathe, as he felt Rose step away and her mobile screen flared to life. "Got any candles or a torch?"

"Yeah, somewhere around here." He dug his own mobile out and began rummaging through his cabinets. He had stocked up on basic supplies that he saw on varying television shows and movies. He heard Rose wander into the bedroom, but he kept looking. He found a torch, and flicked it on, then moved to the cabinet above the stove to see if he could find the candles. He heard a thud, and Rose swore loudly. "You okay?!" He called over

The smell of sulfur drew his attention, and he saw the warm yellow glow coming from the bedroom. "Got some. They were in your closet." Rose called.

Dread flooded his stomach. He had hidden his clothes, shoes, identifications, and vortex manipulator in the closet. "Good, yeah, bring them in here."

"Let me clean this up. I knocked over a box." The Doctor tripped over their shoes as he tried to dash into the living room, and when he looked up from the floor Rose was tucking everything back in the box and closing it. "You okay?" She laughed and he pushed himself up.

"Yeah, I just tripped." He hoped his laugh didn't sound as manic as he felt and pushed himself up. "Nothing broken."

"Good." Rose set the lit candle on the dresser and beckoned him with a finger towards the bedroom. "Come here Doctor." Her voice was sultry, and her smile was wicked in the candlelight.

Like a moth to a flame, he crossed to her in the dark. The Doctor curled a hand against her waist as she went up on her toes to bite gently on his lower lip. That warm tingle of arousal sparked under her fingers as they trailed down his chest and stomach to the button of his trousers. He didn't even bother holding back the groan of anticipation as she deftly undid the button, tugged down his zipper, and slid her hand into the band of his boxers. He tilted his head, trying to catch her in a full kiss, but she avoided his lips and ran her tongue along his jaw.

He gasped as her fingers wrapped torturously slow around his ever growing length and pulled slowly at his neck with her teeth. "Mmm bed." He sighed, trying to angle her backwards, but Rose pushed against him with her other hand until his back hit the wall.

"Nah." She giggled teasingly in his ear, and gave a long stroke that made his blood flow downward with increasing pressure. "I think right here is perfect." Her lips disappeared and he watched as she knelt slowly, pulling his trousers down and licking her lips. Without a word, her tongue dragged warmly against the underside of his shaft and twirled around the head.

He was about to again suggest the bed, so that he could strip her bare and maker her cry out his name, but her sinful mouth wrapped around the tip of him and she took his length slowly deeper. The Doctor braced a hand against the wall and the other on her shoulder, gasping as her talented mouth and tongue sent waves of pleasure through his body.

He felt his head spin as she bit down gently and drew back, pressing her tongue underneath and driving him dangerously close to the edge already. "You never let me do this." She whispered as she took him in hand again and gave another tantalizing stroke. "Don't you like it?"

"Ah, yes!" His voice came out more high pitched than he intended, but she had chosen that exact moment to take him as far into her throat as she could. "I just didn't think you." The question fell short as she hummed around him and gave a deliberate suck as she pulled back. His knees shook dangerously and he let his head fall back against the wall. "Star above that feels amazing."

Rose giggled and began working him intently this time. One hand moved in time with her mouth, but the other trailed up and down his body, alternating between soft touches and delicate scrapes of her nails. It was, without a doubt, the most erotic experience and sight of his life. The candlelight cast her half in shadows and half in a warm glow. The groans and moans of pleasure she was making matched his as he fought to stay upright and also tried to relax enough to fully enjoy this moment.

The Doctor was close to the edge, it was just there, if Rose would only do that thing with her teeth again, he'd tumble over. Then, she pulled away with a pop and grinned up at him. He let out the breath he had been holding as his body was tensing, and she giggled up at him. "Think I don't enjoy it now?" She practically purred as she stood and kissed him teasingly.

"Let me see." The Doctor kicked his pants aside and propelled her back to the bed. If she wanted to play, he could too. When she fell back to the sheets, he leaned forward and pulled her own tight gray business trousers down, along with her panties and tossed them aside. Her giggles turned to a surprised gasp as he pushed her thighs apart and dragged his tongue between her folds. She was beyond soaked, and the thought that this was because of what she had just been doing to him was wonderful. He moved forward, laying himself between her legs and grinned slyly up at her in the light.

He chuckled under his breath as she arched into his lips when he laved an open mouth kiss to her most sensitive spot, and then he rolled his tongue around it. The Doctor loved the way she buried a hand in his hair, pulling lightly as he sucked and nipped at the pink bud at the apex of her folds. Rose was writhing under him, making small whimpers of his name, both John and Doctor. He wrapped an arm over her hips, pinning her down, and then slowly inched one finger into her hot, wet, depths.

She was close, he could tell, by the way her breaths were coming quicker and her body was trembling under him. The Doctor curled his fingers as he added another, searching for that spot that always drove her crazy. He tightened his lips around her with a deliberate suck, and he felt the velvet heat around his fingers begin to flutter. He waited until her fingers tightened in his hair, and then he stopped, pulling back and sliding his fingers free.

"Turnabout's fair play." The Doctor laughed, watching as she lifted her head off the sheets to stare at him in shock. "You started it, Rose. Don't give me that look."

"You evil, little." Her words fell short as he arched an eyebrow at her in the dim light and slowly slid his wet fingers into his mouth and made a show of sucking and licking them clean. The Doctor loved pulling little tricks that made her speechless, but it was his turn to be surprised again, when she pushed up and kissed him fiercely, immediately dipping her tongue between his lips.

He tried to ease her back down, so he could slide inside of her and lose himself to her touch, but she turned, flipping him onto his back, and pinned his wrists on the pillow. "Tease." She growled down at him, straddling his waist and pressing her went center against his length.

"Tart." He shot back jerking against her grip, and her fingers tightened. When she shifted, moved up, and then sank back down, he gave a strangled cry. Rose had taken him to the hilt in one swift movement, and was slowly grinding her hips downwards against him.

She had never been so domineering when they did this, usually surrendering to his touch and letting him bring her to pleasure. It was a surprising turn on for him, watching her above him. The Doctor thrust up into her as she moved down, and his pride swelled deep in his chest as she gave a shout and tossed her head back. Her clip was falling loose, making her hair drop down and frame her face. She looked so beautiful like that, and he wanted to touch her.

Rose released his wrists to brace herself against his chest and slide one hand between them. "Let me." He moaned, trying to move her hand, but she brushed it away.

"No, just watch." She gasped, looking down at him with her lip caught between her teeth.

The Doctor grabbed her hips, steadying her, feeling her move on and around him. Her eyes fluttered shut, and her perfect lips were parted as she panted softly. The hand braced on his chest moved, pushing up her shirt and bra to grasp at her breast.

He was already close again, drunk on this vision before him and the way she so openly displayed herself for him. He pushed up, meeting her rhythm as he tightened his grip on her hips, wanting, needing to see her let go. Then she exploded, her body arched, head falling back, both of her hands moving to his forearms for support, and gave a throaty cry as she faltered in her movements.

The Doctor held her up, pressing himself up into her, the way she clenched around him, and felt his own release snap like a firework, and he saw stars flash across his eyes. This was perfect, raw, and real. All he wanted to do was freeze time so they could stay in this moment forever. When she collapsed against his chest, breathing heavily and stroking his cheek, he realized with a stab of pain that he was in love with her.

He was in love with Rose Tyler, and she was going to be gone soon. He swallowed back the tears he felt forming and pressed his lips to her hair. He may as well have been in love with a ghost. The Doctor couldn't tell her, not yet, so he settled for holding her tightly against him and stroking her spine until they both fell asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

30th June 2010

Rose stood at the counter, chewing the skin from her nail. The pharmacist had told her that amenorrhea was a side effect of her birth control, but she had to be sure. This was the first month she had missed. She breathed a sigh of relief as all three tests showed the same response.

"Why didn't you tell me you thought you were pregnant?" The Doctor's voice made her turn. She thought she had closed the door all the way, but it was barely cracked open and he was standing there with his hands in his pockets. "I thought you were getting the shot.

"I am getting it." Rose felt her cheeks flush and she looked down at her bare toes. "I just hadn't missed until this month, and I had to check."

"I could have taken a blood sample and checked before we left." He offered with a shrug. He didn't seem too upset or surprised, just a bit disappointed that she didn't tell him.

"You can't even see the tests from there." Rose tilted her head at him, the sudden question burning in her mind. "You just knew didn't you? You always know things you shouldn't."

"I can see them in the mirror." He pointed at their reflections, and sure enough they were visible.

"Oh." She smiled hesitantly at him and pushed the door open to their hotel suite. She'd have been happy with a standard hotel room, but her father had reserved one of the best in all of New York City. Behind the Doctor, the hotel balcony doors were open, and the city beyond sparkled in the late morning light. "Are you angry with me?"

"Never." The Doctor pulled her into his arms and swayed with her a bit as he smiled. "I know how you can worry, that sometimes you feel the need to keep things to yourself."

She snuggled her head into his chest, inhaling the smell of cologne and clean shirt. They had arrived a two days early, in order to get rested and see the city. Tomorrow though, was the big moment, the biggest of moments. Today was all about them. She loved being with John, her Doctor, the Doctor. It didn't matter where she went, how stressed or anxious she was, just his embrace made her feel like she was home. Even here, eighty stories in the air, and an ocean away from her house, she was home. "Why are you always so damn perfect?" She chuckled up at him.

"I am one hundred percent convinced that you are the only person who feels that way." The Doctor dropped a kiss to the tip of her nose and playfully slapped her rear with both palms. "Get dressed, we're going to see the city."

If her mother had been here, she'd have insisted that Rose dress in the top labels and eat at the glitziest of restaurants. Luckily, it was just the Doctor, so she wriggled into a pair of shorts, a light t-shirt with her favorite band on the chest, and a pair of white trainers. She combed her short hair into braids, and topped it off with a ball cap.

The Doctor had traded his trademark pinstripe suits for a maroon Ironman t-shirt, a pair of dark wash jeans, but kept his maroon converse. His hair was, of course, tousled to messy, spiky perfection with a pair of sunglasses with maroon frames resting on top. "I think we should blend in, don't you?" He asked.

"Well you'll always stand out, Doctor, no matter where you go." She stuck her tongue out at him playfully. "Come on!"

Rose couldn't stop grinning as they held hands and joined the crowded streets. She marveled at the heavy traffic, flashing signs, and the over all constant buzz of the city.

"New York City." The Doctor waved at the buildings as they passed. "An estimated population of eight million one hundred-seventy-five thousand people permanently live here. Where do you want to start?"

Rose was giddy with excitement. "Lunch?" She asked hopefully. They spotted a pizza shop tucked between a bookstore and a coffee shop, and ordered two slices to go.

Then they wandered the sidewalks, glancing into windows and admiring the sights. Rose just savored the way it felt, being normal, having nobody recognize her, or the occasional paparazzi that cornered her when she was out with her mum. "Are you happy?" The Doctor squeezed her hand as they paused for a crosswalk light.

"Very, very happy." She brought his knuckles up to kiss them and was rewarded with a full toothed grin.

"I want to buy you something." He said suddenly, as if the thought had just occurred to him. "I've never gotten you anything."

"You gave me that lovely painting of the sunset over Buckingham Palace." Rose reminded him, as they hurried across the street.

"I painted it, actually." His cheeks turned a delightful pink, and she felt her heart do a flip. "So technically I didn't buy it." Rose had to bite back the tears of happiness that were choking her throat as he angled her towards what looked like a jewelry shop.

"You painted that? Seriously?." She pulled him to a stop just inside a small alley to avoid the crowd. The Doctor just smiled in response and stroked her cheek with a thumb. He had that look on his face, the one that said he was going to do it no matter how much she pouted. It was the face he made when she tried to give him a back rub but he insisted on her first, or there was only one slice of cake left and she insisted he take it.

She didn't resist as he angled her into a small jewelry shop wedged between a bridal gown store and a cake bakery. "Pick anything you want, sweetheart." Rose knew what his salary was, and while it was substantial, that was still quite the statement. Any other woman would have done just that, but being raised with a nearly unlimited checking account at her finger tips, she decided to splurge in a way that was a bit different.

A case of necklaces caught her eye, and she looked with expert eyes at the one that stood out. It was a simple golden chain with a key shaped charm. Set inside the length of the key were four tiny sparkling sapphires. "Would you like to see?" The woman behind the counter made Rose look up.

"Oh, yes please." She replied, as the Doctor came up behind her and placed his hands on her waist. The woman pulled the necklace out, as the shop door tinkled alerting them to more customers coming in. Rose lifted the chain from the woman's fingers and admired the rich blue sparkles under the light. "This one, Doctor."

"We'll take it." The Doctor smiled and kissed her cheek. "You can wear it tomorrow, for luck." He murmured in her ear.

Rose turned to press a kiss to his cheek. "I should get something for mum and dad's anniversary. It's coming up."

"I'll just take this to the back while you browse." The woman smiled and took the necklace from Rose's fingers.

Rose clung to the Doctor's arms as they looked through the cases. She already spotted a pair of cufflinks with matching tie clip her dad would enjoy, but was having trouble finding something to suit her mum's taste.

"Oh, Josh, it's perfect, but it's too much." The woman's voice made Rose look over. There was a couple, about their ages, admiring wedding sets in a case. "It's eight thousand dollars."

"Yes, Mara, but I had it custom made for you. Look." The man pulled out his phone. "Just like the the one from the book."

Rose looked back down at the case as the Doctor pointed out a ruby necklace with matching chandelier earrings. "I did hear your mum telling Bev that she was hoping for rubies for her birthday."

"Yeah, Dad got her that new car and Tiffany bracelet instead, great idea!" She waved at the woman behind the counter. "We'll take these, and those emerald cufflinks with tie clip."

"Yes Ma'am." The woman smiled. "I'll pull them out and wrap them for you."

The Doctor led Rose over to the register, where another clerk rang up the key necklace. She looked back over at the couple, who were still quietly discussing the rings.

"I'll pay two thousand cash, and put the rest on the credit card." Josh smiled as if it were the simplest thing in the world. "I promised you the wedding of your dreams, Mara, and I'm gonna give it to you."

Mara shook her head and waved a hand. "I'm happy with something smaller. All I need is you."

"Miss." The man at the register cleared his throat. "When you're ready." Rose looked back at the card reader and drew a breath. "One moment."

"Rose, what are you doing?" The Doctor hissed as she pulled away from him and crossed the room.

"Hello, sorry." She smiled and held out a hand. "Listen, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but don't worry about the rings."

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Mara's green eyes furrowed in confusion, and Rose smiled. She had never had an opportunity like this, and she wasn't about to pass it up.

"My name's Rose, Rose Tyler." She looked back at the Doctor. "I know you don't have any idea who I am, but I promise you will after tomorrow. So, all I'm saying is that I want to help out wherever I can." Their confusion grew even more, and Rose couldn't hold back her giggle of excitement. "I want to pay for your rings."

"No." Josh gasped and shook his head. "We can't ask you to do that."

"Look, there's not enough kindness and love in the world, so just consider it paying it forward." She held up a finger. "On the condition that one day, you both somehow find a way to do something for someone else."

She turned on her heel and strode back to the register, her chest bubbling with joy. "Please, add them onto my bill."

"But Miss." The man hissed softly, as if trying not to let the other workers hear. "That will make your bill almost twenty-five thousand dollars."

"I can afford it, trust me." Rose paused as he rang it up, then she swiped her card and signed her name.

The Doctor was shaking with silent laughter and everyone was staring at her in shock as the clerk passed her the bag containing her parents gifts.

"Thank you." Mara stammered, tears welling up in her eyes. "Thank you."

Rose skipped from the shop, and the Doctor caught her around the waist. "You are something else, Rose Tyler."

"What's the point in having a checking account I rarely use." She grinned as they slipped back into the crowd. "If I never use it to make people smile." That made him laugh, and they continued on with their day.

For dinner, they made their way back to the hotel to shower and change, and the Doctor coaxed Rose into a black gown to match his black suit. They didn't go out, instead ordering room service on the balcony and turning on the rather impressive stereo system in the room.

The city seemed more alive at night, with rows upon rows of lights turning the skyline to diamonds, and the full moon reflecting off the harbor in the distance. "Tomorrow we change the world." She mused, as the Doctor guided her in small circles in time to Moonlight Serenade.

"Yes." He kissed her temple and squeezed her hand. "But for now, let's just be this hmm?" She looked up at him. He was staring down at her, eyes shining with what looked like love and just a bit of sadness, always that sadness that she couldn't ask about or explain. "I want to remember this exact moment, Rose Tyler in my arms, with the moon in her eyes."

"You know, Doctor." She smiled gently, and rested her head against his shoulder. "Sometimes, when you say things like that, it feels like you're saying goodbye."

"No." The Doctor's chest rumbled with a soft laugh. "Not goodbye, I just know how short people's lives can be, and if something ever happened, I want moments like this to be there to look back on." He guided them to a stop. "You have no idea how happy I've been since you came into my life. I." He drew a breath and she looked up at him again. "I am completely and totally in love with you, and the last thing I want in this world is to ever, ever lose you."

Rose felt her heart stop for a moment. He loved her? He really loved her. She felt the tears prick her eyes and roll down her cheeks. "I love you too. I've never felt at home or at peace anywhere like I do when I'm with you. I don't want to lose you either." A tear rolled down the Doctor's cheek and he kissed her gently. High on a balcony above the busy streets of New York, Rose felt her future unfold and it was in the four beat count of the Doctor's hearts.


	13. Chapter 13

1 July 2010

The Doctor hadn't let Rose do anything other than apply her makeup and slip on a pair of black pants, a red dress blouse, matching black blazer, and red heels. He had expertly fixed the globe shaped pin on her lapel, fastened the sapphire necklace around her neck, and then combed her hair back into striking, but impressive french twist.

He watched, as Joseph Deizz, the president of the United Nations General Assembly, yielded the floor to her. It hadn't been, until he saw her standing at the podium, eyes fierce and face solemn, that he realized what exactly he was seeing. He recalled a photo that had been shown of her in his history class, and it was at that moment that it clicked for him. The flash of a camera set her necklace sparkling, and he realized that he was meant to be here. She had been wearing that exact necklace. He bought her that necklace. His life had always been leading him here.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the United Nations, citizens of the world watching from around the globe. My name is Rose Tyler." He drew a breath from his seat next to Sir Mark Grant, the United Kingdom's representative. With a click, he brought up the slide that represented the Torchwood Global Logo. "I am here today to represent people among you who do not have the voice nor the power to speak for themselves."

The Doctor watched her eyes flick to him for a moment and then again to the crowd. "She really is Pete Tyler's daughter." Sir Mark mused.

"She's made quite a name for herself, you'll she." The Doctor felt pride swell up in his chest at her confident stance and speech.

"For the last fifteen years, Torchwood has been a global leader in medical research, technological advancement, and humanitarian aid. Our goal has always been summarized by one simple sentence 'Building a future our children can be proud of.'" The Doctor clicked the button on the laptop, and watched as a slide of a young Rose Tyler having her blood drawn was shown.

"Eighteen years ago, an standard annual checkup had two parents in awe. Their daughter showed results that astounded their family doctor and terrified them. Their little girl was different. Her blood held immunities to diseases, and her senses were equivalent to that of a wolf. Fearing for their daughter's safety, they approached Torchwood with an agreement, they would pay off their debts and fund their institute in exchange for finding out if their daughter was indeed unique." She paused as whispers began around the hall, but then raised her voice. "Before you all are binders, and inside are summaries of the research that has come from what Torchwood has discovered." There was a ruffle of papers and the Doctor smirked as gasps came around from the first page. Rose's catch line to continue. "The first page, you see, is an agreement, proposed by me and approved by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. The agreement is that, once you leave here, you will treat the people you learned about as normal citizens of your country. There will be no experiments on them, no hunting them down, no registering them, or treating them as secondary citizens."

The Doctor clicked a screen that showed a photo of little Natalie's gloved hand reaching out to stroke the wings of another student, her lavender eyes wide in amazement. "The human race has evolved since we first began. Our changes have been small, increase in general height, growth of our intelligence, or the adaption to certain climates." Rose drew a breath that the Doctor knew only he could see, from months of burning her habits into his memory. "We have reached a new step in the evolutionary chain. Torchwood has spent years searching the globe, scouring orphanages, and chasing leads to find individuals that we call the Evolved."

The room broke into chatter again, and one person even shouted out in what sounded like French. "If you please!" Rose's voice cut through the noise, much like it did when she had to settle down a board meeting. Sir Mark chuckled beside him, and the Doctor grinned smugly as he triggered the next slide. It was a cyclic video of Miranda summoning and dispersing a ball of light.

"These individuals are, at the base of their genetic coding, humans. However they each have a specific additional helix of their DNA that gives them unique abilities. For some, like the young woman on the screen, that means the ability to manipulate energy into light." The Doctor clicked to the next slide to show Sebastian moving a cinderblock up an incline. "For others, they have the ability of telekinesis. Of the over two-thousand individuals that have come through the Torchwood Academy doors, nobody has displayed exactly identical talents."

The room was so silent now, that the click of the Doctor's mouse echoed through the chambers. Even Sir Mark was watching in wide eyed wonder. Rose was shining, staring the room down, the picture of authority as she began to speak again.

"I said over two-thousand, because more and more become known each day. There is no reason for this evolution that we have found. It occurs at random. The studoes have not gone on long enough to tell if it is hereditary, if the Evolved will also give birth to Evolved." The Doctor knew the next slide would be the hardest of them all, for her and for her parents, but he clicked over to it regardless. "Siblings make up less than hundredth of a percent of the ones we have helped, with only ten confirmed instances." Behind here was a picture of her kneeling next to Toni, his hand and arm invisible but obviously squeezing a squishy ball, as she pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Myself and my baby brother being one set." That caused an uproar, but Rose stood firm, her eyes flashing.

The Doctor wanted to jump up, to yell for silence, but Sir Mark placed a hand on his shoulder and stood up. Before he could even speak, Rose's voice rang out again. "Are you all representatives of your countries, or are you a bunch of undisciplined children?!"

"She's got fire." Sir Mark settled back down in his seat. "I see why she was chosen to head this up."

The Doctor leaned over to whisper as the crowd grew quiet. "Would you believe she actually has terrible stage fright?"

"Imagine if she didn't." Sir Mark gave a fully laugh and leaned forward.

"Our reports estimate." Rose continued. "That at this rate, in the next hundred years, almost a quarter of the world's population will be Evolved." The Doctor clicked to the last slide, showing a collage of adult and children Evolved alike, standing in crowds at Torchwoods around the globe. "So I ask you to think of people in your life that you love, ones that may soon be having children that you love. How would they react if they knew where your answer lies in my next question if their children are born like me, like the ones that I love and have come here to represent? Are you willing to sign those agreements, or will you walk out of here with bigotry and fear in your heart?"

She stepped back from the podium and waited. The Doctor stood first, but Sir Mark was close behind. He clapped his hands firmly, and Sir Mark joined in. Slowly, the applause grew, until it was like someone had unleashed a thunderstorm in the room. It went on for two minutes straight, and the Doctor watched Rose take it in, her eyes shining with hope and fear all at once. He knew how this would go, but she did not.

As the applause died away, the President of the United Nations rose to his feet and spoke. "Miss Tyler, your speech was extraordinary and moving. The information you have shared with us is quite astonishing and will change the world, there is no doubt there. However, as you are not an elected official of this assembly, you know that you cannot make the proposal you brought with you today."

"Yes, Mister President, and for that I yield the floor to Sir Mark Grant, the Representative of the United Kingdom." Rose gave a respectful nod of her head first to the president, then the crowd, and finally to Sir Mark. Then she stepped down from the podium and made her way purposefully to her empty seat next to the Doctor.

"You were amazing." The Doctor murmured and took her hand. He was not surprised at all to feel it trembling and see her face pale under the tint of rouge on her cheek.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Unite Nations. I am here, at the request of both the Prime Minister and Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, to propose United Nations Reform Global Acceptance." His voice carried over the crowd as everyone turned to face him. "The underlying requirements may be found in the binders provided to you at the beginning of Miss Tyler's speech. This proposal is simple. It will recognize the Evolved as another type of humans. It will protect them, as any other humans are protected, grant them the same rights as any other human in your countries, and would prevent their abilities from being exploited without their consent. Is there anyone here would would move to accept this proposal?"

Susan Rice, the Representative of the United States stood next. "The United States moves to pass the Global Acceptance proposal." She said firmly. "And congratulates Miss Tyler on her bravery and courage for bringing this to the world."

Marlene Moses, of Nauru, stood next. "I second the motion." She spoke firmly.

The President Diezz spoke again, his eyes flashing across the room. "Now we vote. All those in favor, say Aye." The room vibrated with the sound of the response. "All opposed?" Only three voices sounded in disapproval. "Then, at the will of the Assembly, Global Acceptance shall be passed."

The room exploded as tears fell from Rose's eyes. The people in front of and behind them turned to congratulate them, but the Doctor squeezed her hand gently. It was all he could do to keep from kissing here then and there. "You, Rose Tyler, have just made history."


	14. Chapter 14

16 July 2010

The world was in an uproar, and Rose found herself at the center of it. Just to maintain a sense of peace, her father had hired a team of security to stand guard outside of her home and patrol the yard. The government had issued a permanent guard outside of Torchwood London and Cardiff to keep the paparazzi and others out. The New York National Guard was activated for the Institute there, and the Emperor of Japan had assigned his Imperial Guard to maintain security in Tokyo. So far, there had been no incidents of violence, and most of the children had been moved to their summer homes and were enjoying the anonymity.

Everywhere Rose looked, her photo or clips of her speech were visible. She was half tempted to dye her hair red and start dressing in thrift store clothing just so she could get her morning coffee in peace. She had grown up experiencing somewhat of a celebrity status, but it had faded once she was an adult and no longer a constant presence at her father's side. Pete had even jokingly told her that it was his greatest joy, standing in her shadow for a change.

So far, every country was abiding by their agreement. The smaller, poorer ones were partnering up with their larger, more wealthy neighbors to begin creating havens and schools for their Evolved. Almost thirty countries were scrambling to have a Torchwood Institute built in their major cities, and it was both terrifying and moving to know that this was all because of her and her teams countless hours of research and development.

Tonight though, she would be making an official public appearance for the first time. There was going to be a gala at the Cardiff institute, since it held the largest auditorium that could be converted into a ballroom/dining hall. Global leaders had flown in, last minute, in droves to attend. The Queen herself was even supposed to attend, as it was agreed that the United Kingdom would be ushering this new era into existence.

That is why she found herself, clinging to the Doctor's hand and slipping in the janitor's entrance wearing a flowing sleeveless red gown (the Doctor had insisted) with blue crystals along the waist in a v-shape that accentuated her curves, a pair of white heels, white elbow length gloves trimmed with blue and red crystals, and sapphire earrings to match the key necklace that rested on her collarbone.

So far, only Torchwood employees were present, and the hired photographers were setting up. "Stop fidgeting, love." The Doctor adjusted her necklace and smiled. "The hard part is over. From tonight onward, you're going to have the most peace you've ever experienced."

"You know I hate these things." She hissed back and rolled her eyes when she smiled. He tensed in front of her, as he spotted someone over her head, so she turned. Saxon was waiting a short distance away in a tuxedo, looking as apologetic as she had ever seen him. "Did you need to speak with me, Doctor Saxon?"

"Both of you, actually." Rose saw him swallow and adjust his bowtie as he made his way over. "I just wanted to formally apologize for my behavior that morning in your office, Miss Tyler. I can claim I was stressed or misread your statements, but that doesn't matter. It was wrong of me, and an insult to the connection that you two obviously share." He held out one gloved hand. "And I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me."

Rose glanced up at the Doctor who was practically sneering at Saxon, and she elbowed him. Her friendship with him had gone back for the last six years, and it didn't seem right to let one mishap fracture it. "Of course, Harry, as long as you know where we stand." She shook his hand and elbowed the Doctor again.

"What Rose said." He huffed, but didn't shake his hand.

Harold lowered his hand and turned away. He took a few steps, before he stopped and turned around. "Later though, I have something to show you both in my office, it's going to change the future of the Evolved like nothing before." Saxon turned again and disappeared into the crowd.

"I bet you do." The Doctor's growl almost sounded like it was hateful, but he cleared his throat and held an arm out to Rose. "Shall we love?"

Rose gripped his arm and let him lead her into the main portion of the ballroom. Everyone was milling about, and she saw enough under cover security by the doors and the exit to make up a small army. "Blimey." She whispered through her perfectly practiced fake smile, as what looked like a Nigerian princess shook her hand and moved along. "It's like someone took my worst nightmare and brought it to life."

"I thought spiders were your worst nightmare." The Doctor chuckled, tickling his fingers along the back of her bare shoulders.

"I hate you right now." Rose batted his hand away and glowered at him. Honestly, how could he be so relaxed about this? She could already feel the drain on her energy from her perfect princess act.

"That's a shame." He murmured in her ear. "Because I have nothing but love for you, and that dress." The Doctor pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "Dance with me."

"But nobody's dancing yet." Rose wanted to protest, but he whirled her out into the half empty dance floor for a swirling waltz. There was a soft round of applause, and slowly other couples were joining them. She even thought she caught sight of Prince William in full regalia walking in, but another couple cut in front of her.

The night became a blur, as these often did, of names and dances and curtsies and wine. The Doctor was constantly at her side, always present. Rose needed a moment to breathe, and as always he could tell. He twirled her into an empty alcove by a door that led down to the research hall. "Better?" He whispered.

"Much, thank you." Rose gripped his arms as she rolled her aching feet under her dress. Her fingers closed over something bulky beneath his tuxedo sleeves. "What's this?" She pushed it back curious to see what new toy he had managed to create. Probably sort of watch. It was a thick leather band that bulged at the top. "Doesn't really go with the tux though." She looked up as he made a sound like he had been punched.

"Do you trust me, Rose?" The Doctor's caramel eyes were the saddest she had ever seen. The only time eyes looked like that were at a death bed. Dread tightened her stomach. "Rose, I need to tell you something, but I need to know if you trust me."

"Of course I trust you?" She have blurted out, and turned around to look to make sure they were alone.

"This is called a vortex manipulator." He unbuckled the top flap of the leather to show a strange device with even stranger buttons and a blue light. "It's the only confirmed method of time travel." Rose couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled out of her. "I'm serious Rose." The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a thin, transparent piece of flexible glass about the size of a Torchwood Identification badge. He pressed a thumb to it, and his photo shimmered into existence along with writing. They were all set over an emblem of a golden wolf holding a red rose in it's teeth.

"What is this?" Rose rolled her eyes, feeling the skepticism settling in. She pulled it from his grasp and read the writing out loud. "Torchwood Institute London, John Noble, M.D., M.S., Department of Infectious Disease, Department of Research, Date of Hire September Twenty-Second twenty-one fifty-nine." She looked up at him expecting him to be laughing, but his face was far more serious than she imagined. "This is a joke, right?"

"No, it's not a joke." He fiddled with his his tuxedo shirt and opened it to reveal a set of what looked like silver scrubs. "I'm from the year twenty-one sixty. Something has happened, an outbreak that only affects the evolved. I was sent back to find the source in hopes to find a cure, a blood donor only known as A165. That cure is you." The Doctor tried to cup her face, bur she jerked away.

"This isn't funny, John." Rose shoved the plastic card back into his hand. Her heart was pounding. This was a lie. It had to be a joke, a prank set up to get her riled. "I'm going back out to dance. If your laughs are over, join me." She turned from him, unsure why his words had upset her so much. Time travel didn't exist. It couldn't. If his story was true, why did he wait until now to tell her. It had been five months. "Super hilarious." She murmured under her breath and plastered on her plastic smile as she edged her way through the throng of guests milling about.

"There you are." Saxon approached her, with a lovely redheaded woman on hid arm. "Are you ready to see my breakthrough?"

Rose looked back to find the Doctor, but he had vanished. "Of course." She shrugged.

"Andrijana, dear, why don't you step outside and have a smoke. I'll be back in a flash." He kissed the woman on the hand and she disappeared into the crowd. "You're going to love this. I promise."

"Were you able to make that HIV vaccine you were working on." Rose asked, as he led her from the party and through the door to the research hall. She wasn't too familiar with the layout of this facility, so she was content to let him take the lead.

"Yes, actually. The formula is set to begin production in three months, once the final tests have been approved." Saxon called a lift and she stepped inside. "But that's not what I want to show you. It's a surprise!"

His blue eyes sparkled with excitement, and for a moment she thought he was going to make a pass at her again, but he didn't. They stepped into a long hall, and he led her back to an open laboratory room. "Do I need to suit up?" She gestured at the mazmat gear hanging on legs. "No, no. You have nothing to worry about. This wouldn't even give you a sniffle."

The lab was dark, with the tables bare except for one that had a laptop open and running. She thought she saw movement in the corner, but when she looked, nothing was there. Saxon led her over to the table and unlocked the laptop screen. There was a video of what looked like a slide. Some scary looking cells were eating away at what looked like white blood cells. "What is this."

"Payback." Saxon replied simply, and the backhanded slap came so quickly even her Evolved defense didn't have time to kick in.

She felt her head spin as she flew to the ground. Her head collided with the tile floor, making her see spots. Saxon was over her in a flash, and he grabbed her by the throat and slammed her head down again. The pain was almost unbearable, and she couldn't get up without nearly blacking out. "Why?" She wasn't sure if she had spoken out loud.

"You Evolved." He drug the word out and delivered a kick to her side, making her bite her tongue and taste blood. "You think you're so special. You think you can waltz into peoples lives, steal their wives, turn them down. You're wrong!"

Rose lifted her head, trying to make her vision focus, as she saw him typing. "You're insane." She hissed, coughing what tasted like blood as she rolled.

"I married Lucy for her money." He laughed. "It's true, but she was my wife. Then that stupid freak of nature had to stick his stupid abomination of a cock in her, give her a baby when I couldn't."

"Why are you beating me then?" She groaned, coughing more blood onto the floor as she tried to go up on her hands and knees.

"For a year, I knew she was cheating, so for a year I tried to get close to you. I always wanted you to begin with. You're special, unique, immune to every single thing I threw at your blood. I thought." His voice grew full of snarling contentment. "You were different, but no. You shack up with the first pretty boy who comes along. You'd rather have some double hearted glitch in the human race than me!"

"You'll go to jail, Harry." Rose managed to struggle to her knees, the room still spinning as she did. Where was the Doctor? Why hadn't he come looking for her? She finally felt her body reacting to the pain, the shifting of the air around her.

"They won't know who did it." He chuckled darkly. "It will look like a terrorist attack. The powerful of the world are a few floors up, oblivious to what is about to happen."

"What are you talking about?" Somehow she already knew. "A virus. You're going to release a virus?" The Doctor had been telling the truth. She had laughed at him, but he had been telling the truth. "No. I won't let you." Rose kicked off her heels and struggled to her feet.

"It's too late. The count down is already started." Saxon laughed and rounded on her, kicking his stool away. A fifteen minute countdown was on the screen. "You're immune, of course, like always. Rose Tyler, A165, my best donor. Shame they won't know. They'll never know who's blood was immune. I made sure my records were strictly anonymous."

"John knows." Rose spit back. "He told me I was A165." She squared herself, spitting the blood in her mouth to the floor.

"Well maybe if you two hadn't have had your little spat, he'd be here to save you. He ran away though. The pretty ones always run. Saxon laughed and took a swing at her.

Rage flooded through her body, and Saxon's fist collided with the solid wall of energy around her. He stumbled back into a table. "You forgot about that huh?" It was her turn to laugh. "You forgot about what happens when you piss off the Bad Wolf."

"I like it when they fight." He sneered, and charged at her again. Rose through her arms out in front if her, and he slammed into a cabinet. Chemical bottles shattered around him, filling the air with their fumes.

"Fifteen minutes is more than enough time to kick your ass and get everyone out." Rose dove for him, but he rolled away.

"Oh, sweetheart. They won't escape. It's airborne. I placed it in the ventilation system." He picked up a black bottle and threw it at her feet. It shattered, coating her skin with burning liquid.

Instinct seemed to have taken over for Rose, and the lessons from Jack slipped into place. She began herding him to the back of the lab, taking swings, and reflecting the blows or objects he tried to rain down. Saxon was laughing, a manic sort of thing that just enraged her more. This had to end, and it had to end now. She jumped at him, her dress tangling around her legs as they crashed into a table lined with bunsen burners. She heard and smelled the gas begin to seep into the room.

Since she was laying over him, Saxon was able to grab a scalpel that had fell to the floor, and plunged it her bicep. Rose screamed as the pain shot up her arm, and she ripped it out, slashing at him. He landed a blow to her ribs, forcing her to roll over. She scrambled to her feet, trying not to trip over her dress, as he crawled to the next table and pulled himself up.

The pain was blinding as she gave chase, and she shoved him from behind into another cabinet of supplies. His head collided with the steel and glass, and more bottles shattered to the floor around them. He didn't move, and Rose gave him a hard quick to make sure he was out. He didn't move.

She hurried back to the laptop, and began searching for the count down cancel. She couldn't find it. Rose screamed at the computer and limped to the door as fast as she could. It was locked, and and the badge scanner was flashing a three fast and three count red light. It was emergency lockdown, and could only be opened from the control room upstairs.

She stumbled back, her arm growing deliciously numb from the blood loss. Her vision swam, as she stared at the countdown. Ten minutes were left. Rose began typing in every command override code she thought he would use. None of them were working. A thought came to mind, an absurd thought, but it just might work. Slowly, she clicked the keys. Alpha 1 six 5, and the override clicked onto the screen. There was still no countdown, only an option to reset the counter. The room was growing dark, and the keyboard swam. Her fingers felt heavy and light all at once as the dragged across the keyboard.

A noise made her turn. Saxon was on his feet, pouring bottle after bottle of chemicals over every inch of the room. A trail of it led to the back of the room, up and over the long line of highly temperamental controls that powered the exhaust fans and air purification system. "No!" Rose stumbled forward, grabbing at the tables as she went. Again, from the glass office that held infection disease samples, she thought she saw a shadow, but nobody was there.

Saxon lifted a bottled and drenched himself with it. Then he pulled out a silver lighter. "You're going to burn with me Rose." He laughed.

"No!" Rose clenched her fist and summoned all if the strength she could. The energy shot forward, slamming into Saxon and throwing him back into the fan generators and control. It seemed like slow motion when his arms flailed back, head collided with the control panel, and the lighter fell from his fingers. It it the floor with a clang and created a spark, and the room exploded.

Rose felt herself thrown back, felt the fires burning around her, the painful sting of it on her legs and arms. She tried to roll away, but could barely breathe. "Doctor." She sobbed, as darkness began slipping over her mind. "I'm so sorry I didn't trust you." Her eyes fluttered shut, and somewhere in her mind she registered fingers closing around her arm. Then her world jerked dangerously around her. _So this is what death feels like_ was the last thought in her mind.


	15. Chapter 15

The Doctor felt his hearts shatter as Rose disappeared from view. He knee that was how she would respond, but it still hurt. She deserved to know the truth. He shook it off, wiping his hands over his face, and pulled out his badge for this Torchwood. He scanned it and let himself into the hall.

It killed him inside, just like he knew it would, as he trudged down the empty hall to where Saxon's office was. It was time to finish what he started, to get the vials and leave. He let himself into the lab, looking around at the empty tables and swallowed deeply. Saxon's glass walled office was to his left, and he let himself in. There was a refrigerator in the corner marked with the symbol for blood, so he pulled it open and looked through the racks. In Alpha group, he found nine tubes of Rose's blood, the last bit of her that would exist.

Then he turned to Saxon's computer. From there he turned on the security footage of the lab. It had been off for some reason, he'd noted the cameras weren't on, and he knew from history that there was a clip of Rose unleashing her power on someone and sparking the explosion. That someone must have been Saxon. The Doctor took one last look around and then prepared to head home. Voices caught his attention, and he ducked low into the shadows as the main lab door opened.

Rose was following Saxon inside, looking upset but curious. Watching them fight was the hardest thing he ever experienced. He wanted to rush in, to break it up, to cancel the countdown, but he couldn't. She was glorious though, all red and blue and golden rage. The Doctor had never seen her fully let go, and now he could. When the explosion happened, it was like watching a double play in his mind. He saw her fly back, to land in a puddle of chemicals, and collapse.

"She gave her life that day." He repeated his history teacher's voice. "She fought off the man, who's name nobody remembers. Rose Tyler sacrificed it all to save the group above, but we don't know from what. The Bad Wolf stepped up to the world to give us freedom, and we couldn't even bury her. They searched the rubble, but her body was never found." It hit him then, like the explosion he had just witnessed. "Her body was never found!" He screamed in delight and yanked open the door.

The Doctor ran across the room, tucking the vials in his pocket as she did, and skidded on his knees to her side. He closed his left hand over her wrist and pressed the final code to take them back with his right index finger. The world spun dangerously, and they landed in his decon shower with a jolt.

He almost ran out to sound an emergency code then, but stopped just long enough to strip out of his tuxedo and don his sterilization suit. Rose didn't need one. He dashed to the wall and slammed his badge against the intercom system. "I need a trauma team to Doctor Nobles office, Stat!"

The Doctor grabbed his own bag of supplies from his desk and ran back to Rose. He began cutting her dress away. He turned on the shower, washing the chemicals away from her skin, until he heard the sound of a team rushing into the room.

"What have we got, Doctor?" Martha, his ever faithful assistant was on her knees, helping him get her clean.

"Female, twenty-four years old, Evolved, not pregnant, chemical burns, blunt force trauma, fire burns, stab wound to the left bicep, head trauma, possibly internal bleeding." He rambled off, as he stepped aside for the gurney to hover closer.

"Name?" Martha asked, as she typed in the information. The rest of the trauma team lifted her up to the gurney and began an immediate transfusion if liquids. "And she's going to be exposed if we have to treat her."

"Rose Tyler." He responded, pulling out the vials. "Also known as donor A165, she's immune." He handed Martha the blood filled tubes. "Get those to research. They know to be waiting on them."

"What do you mean, Rose Tyler?!" Martha screamed after him. "Rose Tyler died over a hundred years ago!"

The Doctor laughed as he turned back to her. "Reread your history book, Martha. Her body was never found. There's a difference." He took off after the team, his suit feeling strange as he did so. After breathing without a helmet for so long, the sterilized and processed air tasted weird.

He had been gone three hours, he learned as he stared at the clock over the door of the operating room. Five months in three hours, even though he lived it, it made his brain turn to think about it. Rose had suffered three broken ribs, a fracture to her skull, third degree burns on both legs and one arm, and a ruptured spleen. Back in her time, this would have taken hours upon hours to treat, but under the Doctor's watchful eyes, the surgery team had her out of the operating room and pumped full of heavy anesthesia and pain medication in the intensive car unit in less than three hours.

The Doctor sat beside her, stroking her hand, wishing he could feel her soft skin under his. That skin would be even softer, he knew, from the dermal regeneration treatments she had been given. The burns were already healing rapidly, and soon there would only be barely visible scars. Their main worry was her brain. They had gotten most of the swelling reduced, but she still wasn't in the clear.

He had scoured the internet, while he waited, checking to see if anything had changed. There was nothing that he noticed, it seemed history had proceeded exactly as it was meant to. He had slept some, resting his head on her bed, but it had been brief. He had been back twelve hours, and nobody had bothered him. A knock on the doorframe drew his attention.

Mickey, Martha's fiancé, and one of his best research technicians was standing there, a vial of golden fluid in his hand and a needle. "You did it, Doc." He smiled and held them up. "We managed to isolate the immunity and create a serum. We took a sample of the blood you turned in last week for your weekly test, and infected it with the virus. All traces of the virus were gone in less than thirty minutes. When we reintroduced the virus, it barely lasted five."

"Did you send it down to be replicated?" The Doctor looked down at Rose and smiled in relief. Oh his glorious Rose.

"Yes, and I was sent up here to administrate it to the workers on this floor." Mickey waved the vial again. "You first, Doctor."

The Doctor pressed the button on his arm to release the safety latch designed to allow for administering medicine. He had changed out of his tuxedo and back into his scrubs once Rose had been brought to this room. Mickey drew the dose up, and he didn't even flinch as the needle pierced his skin.

He waited, patiently, as Mickey made his rounds, for him to come back and draw a blood sample. It was an hour, but soon he was sliding a sample of his own fresh blood that had been exposed to the virus into the scanner. The screen ran numbers across, and then it flashed the results: Immune system response detected, virus cells destroyed. "Finally." The Doctor gasped and popped his mask off, and stripped out of his sterilization suit. "Are they administering it facility wide?" He asked, as he took the bottle from Mickey, drew up an injection, and dosed him.

"Yes, Boss." Mickey nodded. "And emergency teams are being sent out all over. All seventy replicators are working full speed to get it out."

"Did they test it for mother to fetus transferability?" He asked.

"Worked there as well, Why?" Mickey asked, as the Doctor dug in a supply drawer for a clean needle.

"Don't worry about it." The Doctor clapped him on the shoulder, and darted into the hall. It was a relief to see the staff slowly shrugging out of their suits, being able to deliver the real care their patients needed, the touch of skin on skin. For the first time he saw and felt the hope slowly creeping into his world.

He knew Andrea wouldn't be in her office, so he wasn't surprised to find her sitting behind his desk. "How long were you there?" She asked, standing up and looking at him. "You look different, exhausted and different."

"Five months." The Doctor replied. "I could have come back after a month, but I made another promise I couldn't break."

"The woman you brought back?" Andrea knew him so well, almost as well as Rose.

"Yep." He popped the P as he drew a the golden liquid into the syringe. "Five months and I was still back before breakfast." He pulled open the flap on her sleeve, wiped the area down, and delivered the miracle he had promised her.

"Who is she?" She asked, as he closed her sleeve back up. "They told me you ordered them to keep it a secret until you talked to me or Mikael."

The Doctor tossed the empty bottle and the needled into a disposal unit. "Your great, great aunt, Rose Tyler." He watched as her mouth popped open in shock.

"But she died!" Andrea gasped shaking her head. "You changed history!"

"No, History happened exactly as it was meant to." The Doctor laughed, feeling a bit delirious in his exhaustion. "Remember how your parents had that picture of her at the UN summit, and the key necklace she was wearing?"

"Yes! I begged my mum for a necklace just like that!" Andrea tilted her head, excitement sparkling in her eyes.

"She never owned that necklace until the day before the Summit. I took her to a jewelry shop and bought it for her." The Doctor rocked back on his heels, feeling his cheesy grin breaking across his face.

"But what about what we learned in history? That she died in the explosion." Andrea's face had fallen, confusion warring for control as she worried her lip.

"She does that too, you know." He interjected. "Bite her lip when she's upset or worried." Then he cleared his throat. "The history books actually said he body was never recovered. They never found it, because I brought her here. I didn't even realize it until right after the explosion." A sudden thought burst into his mind. "You family keeps a lock of Toni's hair in their vault, yes?"

Andrea nodded. "We could do a dna test, if anyone questions it. That would show they were siblings." Silence fell between them for a moment, before she crossed the short space and wrapped him in a hug. "You should sleep. You look dead on your feet."

"I need to go sit with Rose." The Doctor replied. "When she wakes up, she'll be scared and confused. I should be there."

"Oh, my Doctor." Andrea smiled sweetly, that adorable tongue touched grin she had inherited from her aunt. "You fell in love with her."

"Yes, yes I did." The Doctor reached down to stroke her belly through her suit. "I told you I'd be back before breakfast." Andrea laughed as she looped her arm through his and they headed back down the hall to Rose's room.

 


	16. Chapter 16

28-31 December 2160

Rose remembered seeing bright lights rushing by overhead, orders being called for fluids and pain medicine. There were strange suits hovering over her, as gloved fingers touched her burning skin. Then darkness took her down again.

The next time she woke, the suited people were calling for something called a dermal regenerator, and she smelled burnt skin and the antiseptic sting of hospital air. Her body hurt so badly she wished she'd die. She felt the tears sting her eyes, but she had no energy to let them fall. Someone touched her face, and through the mask it looked like the Doctor, but she couldn't focus and darkness was a welcome blanket this time. When it wrapped her up tight, and everything was blissfully numb.

The third time she woke, it wasn't an abrupt jerk back to consciousness. It was like swimming upwards in a thick icy pool. Someone was singing softly, a lullaby that sounded like the one her mum and grandmum had sang to her and then to Toni. She tried to speak, but if felt like a tube was down her throat. Rose tried to lift her arms to yank it out, but her whole body felt like it was leadened down. The darkness settled back in, and she tried to fight it, but there was no use resisting.

She thought she heard the Doctor talking, but the words were mostly unintelligible. Rose thought she heard what sounded like brain swelling and temporary coma. She wanted to scream that she could hear them, but there was a loud beeping and her body felt hot. The voices grew more comprehensible, weaving in and out of the never ending darkness. Someone was yelling that the Doctor was an idiot, that he could have destroyed everything. The darkness almost broke then, as Rose tried to tell off whoever was yelling at her Doctor. The beeping started again, and then the world went silent.

The lullaby was back, and soft, cool fingers were stroking her face and arms. Each touch was like a step in a ladder. She reached out for them, following them up out of the abyss that had been sheltering her for what felt like an eternity. Toni's eyes were staring down at her, when Rose opened her own and blinked groggily. Only, it wasn't Toni. They belonged to a woman with long wavy brunette hair and a kind smile. She was singing the lullaby, but she stopped when she saw Rose was awake.

Rose was thirsty. Her throat ached and burned, and her lips stuck together when she opened them to croak. "Water."

"Shhhh, Rose." The woman turned and picked up a little cup with a straw. She angled it to Rose's lips. "Small, slow sips. They just took the tube out an hour ago."

The cool water helped with the dryness, but it burned her raw throat as she swallowed. Her eyes felt heavy, but she fought to keep them open. She was in a hospital room, but everything looked so strange. She couldn't explain why, but it looked wrong. Rose needed something, someone. "Doctor." Her voice sounded far away and cracked. "Where's the Doctor?"

"Just rest, I'll call for him." The woman never let go of her hand, and for some reason it felt comforting to Rose. The woman leaned over to push a button on the wall. There was a ding and she spoke. "She's awake, Doctor."

Rose felt her eyes close again, but the darkness didn't return. She turned her head at the sound of people coming in, and she opened them. The Doctor was kneeling next to her bed, and the woman let him take her hand. "You should be resting, love."

Her head was fuzzy, but there was something so important to ask. She could almost remember, but it was only flashes: a computer, fire, Saxon. Rose had to get up, but her whole body ached and throbbed when she jerked at the wires on her arms. "The countdown?" It hurt so much to talk, but she forced the words out. "Saxon, he's going to-"

The Doctor placed a finger over her lips. "Saxon's been taken care of. Now stop talking, and relax."

Rose nodded, and her head felt like it was going to explode. The Doctor pressed a button on the screen in her bedrail. A cool numbness began tingling up her arm. It scared her, because numbness meant the darkness would come back. "No. No." This time it wasn't darkness, it was just a blissful state of being unaware.

Her body didn't feel so heavy, and the pounding in her head had subsided to a dull throb. Something cool and damp was stroking her forehead, and when Rose opened her eyes the dark haired woman was back. "Hello." Her hazel eyes were rich with concern. "Here, you were thirsty last time." The straw was at Rose's lips before she could ask.

It didn't hurt too much to drink this time, and her vision wasn't so blurry. Rose licked her lips and gave her arm an experimental lift of her arm as the woman resumed patting her face with a damp cloth. "You were singing to me." She murmured. "Who are you?" The woman was very pretty, with a kind face and Toni's eyes.

"My name is Andrea. I'm a friend of the Doctor's." Andrea smiled. "Would you like to sit up a bit? Not much, but enough to drink more comfortably?"

"Yes please." Rose felt her bed lift just a bit, and again she was greeted by the strange hospital room. In the corner was a reclining chair, and the Doctor was asleep in it. He was wearing a pair of silverish scrubs, with that badge she had seen affixed to the front. The scrubs had some spits that looked suspiciously like blood. Even in the dim light she could see the exhausted black bags under his eyes.

"Do you want me to wake him?" Andrea asked, patting her hand.

"How long has he been asleep?" Rose tried to find a clock, but wouldn't. To her left was just a curtain, and to the right was a window covered with blinds. Her voice still sounded so hoarse, and Andrea lifted the straw to her lips.

"About two hours." She gave a lilting giggle and rolled her eyes. "And it's not sleeping so much as passing out from exhaustion." Andrea reached up and adjusted the pillows behind Rose, propping her head up. "How bad is the pain?"

Rose closed her eyes a minute to experimentally flex her toes and fingers. There wasn't pain anymore, but more of an itching sensation that seemed to come and go. Her head was still throbbing, but it didn't make her feel like she was going to pass out. It just felt a bit fuzzy. "My mum and dad, are they here?" Andrea bit her lip and looked over at the Doctor. Then her pink polished nails crept toward that button on Rose's rail. "No!" She jerked hard, trying to stop her. Something beeped loudly to her left, and the Doctor jerked awake at the same time a nurse came dashing in.

"Rose!" The Doctor half tripped over his feet as he jumped up. He waved the nurse out of the way, and grabbed Rose's hand while his other one punched some buttons on a screen. The beeping stopped, and he reached up to touch her face. "Lana, can you bring me some broth? We'll try clear liquids first."

"I'm going to give you two some privacy." Andrea said softly and stepped into the hall.

Rose watched as the Doctor took the now empty sat by her bed. "Where's Mum and Dad? Did everyone get out in time?" She cleared her throat and reached for her cup of water. He helped her hold it to her lips.

"The only person who died was Saxon." The Doctor explained, reaching down with his free hand to adjust something on the screen in her rail. "You stopped him, Rose. You saved everyone in the building when you fought back."

It was almost with a sense of detachment that she realized she had killed him. Rose couldn't remember much, because the flashes were so disjointed and hazy, but she did remember throwing him back. Her mind didn't seem to be able to process that at the moment, so she focused back on the Doctor. "Mum's probably worried sick. Can I see her?" She tried to smile, imagining the squabble that had probably occurred when they told her to leave.

"Rose, Do you remember what I told you at the gala?" His fingers laced through hers and squeezed. "Think, love."

Rose furrowed her brow, trying to remember the conversation. She had laughed, felt insulted, and walked away, but why? Oh yes, he had said he was a time traveler. "Time travel, you said you were from the year twenty-one sixty." She shook her head, trying to see if there was any sort of humor in his eyes, maybe trying to make her laugh again to help ease the shock of being in the hospital. Those caramel eyes were serious and anxious all at once.

The Doctor swallowed, and his lip drew tight for a moment. "Rose, this is going to be a very, very big shock. You can't jerk, you can't get up, because the swelling in your brain is still being monitored." He reached over to the bedside table and picked up a thin glass screen and tapped it with one finger. "I didn't have a choice. I never did, as it turns out. Rose, love, you're in the London Torchwood Intensive Care Ward, in the year 2160." He showed her the screen, and it was a chart with what looked like vital signs and her picture on it. In the upper left hand corner was the date.

"No." Rose shook her head and pushed the screen away. "You're lying. No!" She tried to sit up, but there were IV lines in her arms and wired attached to her head. "No! I want my mum! Get out!" Panic was filling her chest. It couldn't be. It just couldn't be possible. Why? Why would he take her here? "I want to go home!"

"Doctor Noble." The nurse had reentered carrying a tray with a bowl. "If you keep making my patient upset, I'll have to ask you to leave. Another doctor can handle her treatment."

"Lana, you're name's Lana yeah?" Rose pleaded with the nurse. "I just want to see my mum and dad. Please, please call them for me."

"Now Miss, you just breathe okay." Lana set the tray down and shot the Doctor an angry look. "I need to change her catheter bag, Doctor. Please step behind the curtain."

"Love, just listen." He pleaded with her, clutching her hand. "I'm telling the truth." Lana cut him off with a finger and pointed to the other side of the curtain. Rose could tell he was hurt as he stepped out of view.

"Please, Lana." Rose touched her arm softly. "I just want to see my family." She felt the tears in her eyes.

"Do you know who Mikael Tyler is?" The nurse asked, as she went to work changing out the bag. Rose shook her head. Nobody in her family was named Mikael.

"Lana don't." The Doctor hissed from the other side of the screen.

"Well, because it was your blood that created the vaccine and treatment for the Toclafane virus, he is personally searching every DNA database on the planet for your family." Lana finished what she was doing while Rose processed what she said. Why would anybody need to find her family through DNA? Her face was plastered across every damn television in the country.

"My name is Rose Tyler. My dad is Pete Tyler and my mum is called Jackie Tyler." Rose grabbed her hand and pulled so Lana would look at her. "I'm the Executive Director of Project Vortex, a research department at the London Torchwood institute. Lana please." She saw in the woman's eyes the doubt, possibly fear, and pity.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but nobody seems to know how you came to be in Doctor Noble's office, except what he says." Lana swung the beside table over her lap and lifted the lid off the bowl of broth. "I want to believe him. We all do, because whatever you two did, it was a miracle. Right now, you focus on trying to eat and keeping yourself calm. I'll be back in a little bit for your next dose of pain medicine, unless you want to keep the as needed button."

Rose shook her head. "Doesn't hurt so much anymore, just itches." She hadn't even noticed she was scratching her calf with her opposite foot until she thought about it.

"Dermal regeneration for the severity of your burns can sometimes take two weeks to heal properly, but your skin has almost completely replaced itself in less than 4 days." Lana smiled and pulled a syringe from her scrub pocket. "I was going to ask if the itching had started, so glad I brought this." She inserted it into the IV port, snd almost instantly the itching ceased. "Now, eat." She pointed at the bowl. "Do you want me to send the Doctor back in?"

Rose stared at the thin brownish liquid in front of her. "How long have I been here?" Her stomach clenched dangerously, as she looked down at the shiny pink skin on her arms.

"Three days, Miss." Lana responded with a smile. "You had us all worried for the first day and a half, but when you tried to rip your tube out, we knew you were going to pull through."

"I need to speak to the Doctor." Rose swallowed and took another look at her surroundings. She knew what the intensive care unit at Torchwood looked like. She had been there once, when one of the students had fallen from a balcony and hit his head and was bleeding on the brain. This was not the Torchwood unit. None of this technology existed anywhere in the world.

The Doctor came out from behind the curtain as Lana left. He retook his seat, and reached for her hand. His fingers stopped just shy of touching her, and his face looked pained. Rose squeezed his fingers softly, and his eyes lit up just a bit. She wanted to hold it, but her stomach had begun gurgle and growl at the smell of the broth in front of her. She released his hand to hold her bowl steady and pick up her spoon. "Start from the beginning."


	17. Chapter 17

The Doctor watched, his hearts pounding in uncertainty, as Rose slowly sipped her broth. He kept glancing down at the tablet, monitoring her vitals. While her heart rate was elevated and her breathing was rapid, the pain levels seemed to be at a tolerable level, and the swelling on her brain was the lowest so far. He drew a breath. "How far back do you want me to start?" He knew he sounded a bit nervous, but he was. Rose was in shock, he was possibly facing an inquiry, and he was absolutely exhausted.

"Why did you come back to when we met?" Rose's voice was slightly detached, her analytical reviewing data voice. "Start there."

"A year ago." He swallowed and ran a hand through his hair. "A year ago, a construction team was going to take down the Cardiff Torchwood building. It'd been abandoned for almost a hundred years, but the Tyler family." Rose's spoon jerked in the bowl, and he paused before continuing. "They hadn't wanted to tear it down. It had been a symbol, of sorts, like a monument or a reminder of why the Global Acceptance proposal had to be maintained. It was posing a risk of collapsing, so they decided to go in and take it down. First, there had to be inspections and checks to make sure it was clear."

The Doctor stopped, watching to see how she was reacting, and her honey eyes met his and she gestured with her spoon silently. "They turned the power on to the building, and when they did something happened. I know now, well you do too, that it was the countdown Saxon had started. Workers, only those who were Evolved, suddenly became sick. Then it began to spread, and at first we weren't that worried. We thought it was just a new illness, but then we couldn't treat it. Within a week, forty people were dead."

He waited for her to speak, but she simply out her spoon down and laid her head back, watching him. "All travel to and from Great Britain was suspended, and to protect the rest of the world, we were literally sealed off. For the first six months, Vitex and Torchwood worked day and night to fit every home in with an air sterilization system, but when people left their homes they had to wear suits to filter and cleanse the air. She we could clean small sections, but not the entire atmosphere."

"The suits the doctors were wearing when I was in the operating room." Rose's brow furrowed. "Why aren't they wearing them now?"

"I'll get to that, but it's because of you." The Doctor couldn't help but smile at that. His precious Rose had been the answer, all of his answers. "So, two months into the epidemic, I was hired to come in and find to find cure. I was working up in Cardiff, where there were the highest number of patients. We tried and failed for a year, to find a way to counterattack the virus. It's just that we Evolved are so unique, that what worked for one didn't work for the next. I sent a team into the basement labs of Cardiff Torchwood." He paused at that, remembering the four members of his team had been exposed when their suits had been compromised. "They dug out so much data and so many records, that it took the better part of a year before we found five pages tucked in a personal journal. It was the makeup of the virus, and it showed that one test subject had been immune."

"A165." Rose reached for her cup, and he reached out to help her but stopped when she lifted it herself. "I remember, you told me I was immune. Saxon said it to."

"Yes, but nobody knew it was you." The Doctor thought she had drifted off again, as her eyes closed for a moment, but she opened them again and took a sip of her water. "Before the virus started, I was working on an experiment called Project TARDIS. That stands for Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. I was designing it as a way to go back in time an observe history as it actually happened, so that it wouldn't be lost in translation or being rewritten. I had perfected it, and was about to run my first solid test when Torchwood deemed it too dangerous and shut it down."

Rose gave a harsh laugh, but winced and touched her head. He saw her pain levels shoot up on the tablet, but soon settle back down. "Like that would actually stop you."

"You know me so well." The Doctor wanted to kiss her, but he wasn't sure how she was feeling towards him now. So he drew a shaky breath. "The outbreak occurred before I could appeal their decision. When we found out about the Immunity, I traveled back in time against the will of the Board." He felt her eyes raking over him, as if she saw him in a way she hadn't before. "It was supposed to be simple. I was going to get into Torchwood, find some vials of A165 blood, and come back."

"Why did you stay?" Rose shifted in her bed and furrowed her brow in confusion. "You would have seen the blood, my blood, in the results by the end of the first few weeks."

"I stayed for you." The answer was incredibly simple and so, so complicated. "I knew who you were, because everybody knows who you are. You're one of the most significant names of the twenty-first century. That's why I pushed back against the position you offered at first. Then, I got to know you. I saw how out of place you felt, how you didn't feel like you belonged. To everyone else you were so strong, but that night when we ran out of your mum's party, I realized that I couldn't just keep my distance."

"Why not?" Rose's voice was a bit sharp.

"Because." The Doctor pulled at his hair and tried to hold her eyes, but they were so cold, so angry. It made his hearts ache. "Because we were taught in history class, that you died the night of the explosion. I didn't." He covered his face, trying to push back the wave of emotions in his chest. "I didn't want you last few months to be lonely. At first, I just wanted to be your friend, but then I fell in love with you, and you loved me back."

"That's why you were always so sad after we..." Her voice trailed off. "But I didn't die. I'm here."

"That's where it gets a bit more complicated." He raised a finger and touched the necklace on her chest. "It wasn't until I saw you pick out this necklace, that I realized I wasn't just there to find the cure. See, in the videos and pictures of your speech you were wearing this necklace. I bought you this necklace. It wasn't until I saw you fighting Saxon that I remembered what we had learned in history classes. They never said you actually died. They said your body was never found."

It was like someone had lit a light behind Rose's eyes and her respirations went up on the tablet. "You knew about the virus. You could have stopped it!"

The Doctor shook his head. "If I had stopped him, destroyed it, then the outbreak would never have happened. If the outbreak never happened, then I never would have traveled back in time. If I never traveled back in time, then Project Vortex may have been delayed or put off. It would have created a paradox that may have just destroyed reality." It made even his head spin, contemplating the possibilities, so he knew it had to be harder on her. "But, I almost didn't get you out. It was literally the last possible second that I realized what had to happen. I had to bring you here, because I had already done it."

The silence was heavy, and the Doctor waited for something, anything to happen. He wasn't sure what she was going to do, how she was going to react. Then she spoke. "If they never found my body, then I can never go back?" Her voice was soft, and for some reason he expected her to cry. Rose didn't though. She just drew a breath and took his hand. "You aren't going to leave me alone, are you? You're not married or have a girlfriend here or..." her sentence trailed off and he could see the panic in her eyes.

"No, I'm still yours, love." He lifted her fingers to his lips and kissed them softly. The fear in his chest alleviated just a bit at her words. "But you have family here too. A great great niece and nephew, and your niece is pregnant. Your nephew has two kids, little boys."

"Mikael?" Rose rolled the name over her tongue. "Lana said there was someone named Mikael Tyler who was running a DNA test."

"That's him. He and I, well, we don't see eye to eye. He needs proof." The Doctor rolled his eyes at that. Honestly, the man could be a total idiot sometimes. "But Andrea, she's my best friend. She believed me as soon as she saw you. She's sort of worshipped you since we were kids."

"Andrea is my niece?" She rubbed her head with a hand and sighed softly. "That's why she knew the lullaby." Rose groaned and her lips turned down. "This is making my head hurt."

"Well you nearly died." The Doctor pressed the tablet screen to call Lana in. "I just ordered some medicine. It won't make you sleepy like the other ones did."

"Good." Rose closed her eyes for a minute again. "I'm sorry I laughed at you, and screamed at you to get out." Her pale cheeks flushed a bit, and it felt so good to see her looking so alive after three days. "And for not believing you."

"Those were all perfectly acceptable reactions." He leaned forward to press a delicate kiss to her lips. "I would have been worried if you didn't."

There was a soft knock at the door, and he turned to look. Andrea and Mikael were standing in the hall. Lana pushed past them to bring Rose the thin film of medicine. "It's a bit bitter, but it'll pass." She placed it on Rose's tongue and looked at the group. "You know this is technically family only." She spoke to Mikael and Andrea. "We made the exception for Mrs. Blackstock so that Doctor Noble could get some rest. Since she's awake, I'm sorry but we have to enforce policy."

"We are family." Mikael spoke up, his voice tight and hesitant. "The DNA report should be in her file."

Lana's face was so shocked that even Rose giggled. She threw up her hands and waved them in before walking back out.

Andrea came confidently into the room, pulling one of the chairs up to the other side of Rose's bed, and moving her tray out of the way. Mikael came in more hesitantly, standing a bit away from the bed.

"You're Andrea." Rose turned to look at her, and the Doctor smiled as her Andrea nodded. Then she looked at the other man. "You're Mikael." He gave a curt nod, and shifted a bit uncomfortably. The Doctor felt irritation well up in his chest. Why did the man have to be such an arrogant arse? "You both have my dad and Toni's eyes."

"So do my kids." Mikael spoke up and cleared his throat. "I'm sure you're still a bit in shock, because we all are Miss, I mean Aunt."

"Just Rose." Her voice was just as tense as his, and the Doctor felt her squeeze his hand. "Hearing a grown man call me aunt is a bit odd."

Andrea laughed. "How are you feeling?"

"A little less like death, but still like a herd of elephants ran me over." Rose seemed to be relaxing as her headache subsided, so the Doctor set aside the tablet.

"We just wanted you to know that this is still being kept confidential." Mikael finally approached the bed, and placed his hands on the rail. "The last thing we need is the news media swarming the hospital more than it already is. Once you've been released, you're more then welcome to stay with myself or my sister while we get everything arranged."

"I want to stay with the Doctor!" Rose's voice was firm, and the Doctor let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Well that's perfectly fine, Rose." Andrea took her other hand and stroked it softly. The Doctor flashed her a smile of gratitude at everything she had done since he came back. "For now, you just rest, and when you're up to it, we'll talk about the rest." She stood up and nodded at Mikael, and they left whispering furiously.

"Doctor." Rose sounded drained.

He reached up to brush her hair back from her face. "Yes, love."

"You need to sleep." She lifted a thumb to touch the scruff that had been growing as he had neglected shaving. "Because you look worse than I feel."

"Yes, dear." He chuckled as she closed her eyes and waited until her breathing grew even. Rose was alive and in spite of it all, still wanted to be with him. The worst part was over.

 

 


	18. Chapter 18

6 January 2161

"No, no." Rose sighed and shook her head. "It's too complicated, too ugh, I dunno." She brushed her hair from her face, and turned away from the window. Andrea was sitting between three screens and scrolling across them with gentle swipes. "Why can't we just tell the truth?"

"You do realize the uproar that would cause." She laughed softly.

"So, we can tweak it a little bit." She smiled at the woman who was five years older than her and almost one hundred and thirty years younger. "We can say that it wasn't just the Doctor, that it was in fact backed by Torchwood as a last attempt to stop the epidemic."

"It's Rose's decision." The Doctor pushed himself up from the chair where he was sitting and crossed the room to pull her into her arms. "Besides, the vortex manipulator is safely hidden away, and only I know the details that went into it" He tapped his temple with a roguish grin.

"The board is already demanding an inquiry, Doctor." Andrea rolled her eyes at him, but flashed Rose a wink. "The only reason I'm not facing one is because you denied that I gave you permission."

"He'd have done it anyways." Rose pressed a kiss to his cheek and wiggled free of his grasp. "He's got a stubborn streak that borders on narcissism." She walked over to stand behind Andrea to see what she was compiling on the screens.

"It's not really as if we can keep it a total secret." Andrea pulled up the video clip from two days before where the Doctor had announced that the virus was almost completely eradicated. Small flare ups were still occurring in some of the smaller cities, but as the entire populace lined up to be vaccinated the numbers were dropping. There had only been three deaths since Rose had woken up. "His Majesty is already wanting to know what happened."

"Wait." Rose paused to look at them both. "What about the Prime Minister? I just realized that there isn't one. I've only seen the king talking."

"Uh, about that." The Doctor scratched his head and gave a wry smile. "There was an incident, about seventy years ago. Hard to explain, but essentially the citizens decided to switch from electing a prime minister and having hereditary royal ascension to electing a monarch. We are the first true Constitutional Democratic Monarchy in history."

Rose blinked, feeling a bit stunned. "O....kay." She laughed and shook her head. "So, about my identity. What would be more believable?" She was still reeling from all of this. The shock had mostly worn off, but it was a long process for her to adjust. So far her niece and nephew had been keeping her off the radar. It had only been a week, but now that she had been discharged from the hospital, she couldn't continue to be a Jane Doe.

So far they had come up with a few varying identities, but each seemed more thin than the last. The only two options that were most substantial would cause an uproar one way or the other. Option one was that their father had been involved with another woman. He had gotten her pregnant, and through the routine testing her DNA had shown as a match for the twins. Coincidentally she had also been immune. They were still ironing out the details about her substantial injuries and hospital stay. Option two was mostly the truth, that Torchwood had discovered the source of the virus and sent their best doctor and researcher back in time to find the one subject who was immune. He had discovered it was her, helped her plan the Global Acceptance proposal, and brought her back. The time travel device has been destroyed by the effort of transporting two people, and they had no intention of trying again.

"Anybody who knew my father wouldn't buy the first one." Andrea shook her head. "Honestly the fact that Mikael even suggested it is ridiculous. Dad was utterly devoted to Mum. The civilian population might buy it, but the rich and powerful won't."

"Then the truth it is." Rose smiled and shrugged. It was going to cause an uproar, but she was used to it. "What about the Board?"

"They know the truth, of course." She began clicking through files again, as if searching. "They've already agreed to back whatever you choose. Half of them owe you their lives, and the rest owe you the lives of people they love."

"Even Mikael?" Rose had a rocky start with her nephew. He wasn't exactly nasty to her, more like he was afraid. Andrea said that he thought Rose might try to supplant him as head of the companies, but that was never going to happen. She had never wanted to take over the businesses. That was always going to be Toni's destiny. Her place was working with the Evolved.

"Mikael's a moron." The Doctor snorted from where he was tinkering with something on one of Andrea's shelves.

"Mikael is coming to terms with it." Andrea shrugged. "Honestly, you should be more concerned with how Donna's gonna react."

Rose spun on the Doctor, shock running through her. "Hang on. You actually have a sister named Donna?" She had read it in his files before, but since everything else had been fabricated she just assumed that was too. "Why haven't I met her?"

"She was in Italy on her honeymoon when the quarantine was placed. My mum and grandad were in France." The Doctor turned and tugged at his ear in that adorable way. Sometimes Rose hated that she couldn't stay mad at him when he did that.

"When it's lifted, they'll come back." The Doctor gave her a small smile, but the reality of everything came crashing down again. The Doctor had a family. He had friends and coworker's and a life. Rose had nothing except him, a handful of distant relatives who basically saw her as some generational hero, and that was it.

"I need a minute." She turned away from them, heading to the door that led from Andrea's luxurious home office, and reached for the door handle. Her fingers grabbed empty air, and she groaned in frustration. The tears were welling in her eyes, and she fumbled for the button that would make the door slide open. Rose stepped into the long hall, and headed down to the kitchen area. She needed tea. Tea fixed everything. Hadn't her mother told her that over and over.

She wiped at her eyes, and hurried through the foyer until a strong hand stopped her arm with a light touch. "Rose." Mikael's deep voice made her turn. "Everything all right?"

"Does it look like everything is all right?" She probably shouldn't have shouted, but it was too much. "It isn't like you actually care anyways." Rose jerked away from him and continued her journey to the kitchen. She fumbled through the cabinets.

"Third one on the left, second shelf up." Mikael was behind her. She found the glass jar exactly where he had promised. Before she could reach for a mug, he was holding one out. "I do, care. I just..." Rose took the mug from his hand and filled it from the constantly heated water container Andrea kept by the stove. "Imagine someone that had literally been the icon of your family, the person that everyone expects you to be like, suddenly appears out of nowhere?"

"Yeah, well at least you have a family." Rose spat back. Mikael didn't answer, he just opened the refrigerator, pulled out a bottle of milk, and then pulled down a container of sugar. She didn't understand why he was suddenly being so nice. "I'm not in the mood for the mind games of the rich and powerful."

"Like you're not an expert at them yourself?" He arched an eyebrow at her, and for a moment he looked so much like her father it almost made her sick. "You're a Tyler. You know exactly when to play the princess, when to play the boss, and when to be both all at once. It's practically engrained in our genetics."

"You don't know the first thing about me." She fixed her tea to her taste and then met his gaze. "All you know is what your history books told you."

He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a two pieces of paper. That was odd, because Rose had seen no paper products since she arrived. Everything was digitalized now. "I went through the vault, and I found some things that might." He furrowed his brow as he looked down at the items in his hand. "I think they belong to you." Mikael held them out, and she took them. "I know you can't go home, and that's probably worse than anything else. I thought, well my wife actually, thought it might help if you had some home to hang on to."

Rose brushed her fingers over the glossy paper she was holding and set her mug aside. There was faded writing on both sheets. The first one said "Bahamas 2009." Her heart clenched in her throat, and she flipped it over. The picture had faded with age, and there was a crease along the bottom, but the image itself was still plain. She was kneeling on the beach and building a sandcastle with Toni. She fought back the tears and read the back of the other "Rose's twenty-fifth Birthday 2010." When she turned it over, it was a picture of her wedged between her parents smiling broadly. Behind them was the Doctor with Toni on his shoulders.

"There's more, well not just pictures, but other things." Mikael cleared his throat and she looked up at him. Rose knew her tears were soaking her cheeks, but she didn't care. "You could come over and see. The kids want to meet you, and so does the wife."

"Thank you." She wiped her eyes and sniffed hard. Somehow, this helped. It helped to have something to hold onto that was real. She had already found old articles and pictures from charity dinners or fancy galas. That wasn't what she missed. She missed her family, even though she never quite belonged. "I never asked, but Toni, did he grow up to be a good man."

"He did, according to the family stories. He expanded the Torchwood and Vitex institute more than any others. By the time be retired, he had managed to increase humanitarian aid efforts in nearly every country in the world." Mikael drew a deep breath. "He started, and my grandfather finished, a project geared to ending the global hunger crisis. You'd have been proud."

Rose brushed her fingers over the pictures, trying to imagine the years she had skipped. It helped to know that the people she left behind had continued to help the world. She looked up at Mikael, who was still regarding her with a hesitant look. She swallowed back the block in her throat and wiped her eyes again. "I don't want you to think I'm going to try to take this away from you." She knew he knew she meant Torchwood and Vitex. "I just want to tell the truth of what happened, and then try to build as normal a life as I can with the Doctor."

"I figured that would be your choice." Mikael smiled for the first time since she met him. "I'll take care of the legalities, providing proof for any naysayers, and work on getting you a bank account set up."

Rose jerked at the last part and shook her head. "No. I don't need the money. The Doctor's salary is more than sufficient to provide for both of us."

Mikael chuckled and shook his head. "As much as the Doctor tries to act like he's just another medical professional, the Noble family is actually well off. His grandfather was my grandather's lawyer, and his father was our personal family physician."

"I was going to get to that before she met my mum." The Doctor's voice came from the door. "Sorry, just came down to see if you were okay. I didn't hear anything but that last part." He held his hands up defensively.

Rose didn't care about the money. She'd never cared about it. All she wanted was just to be able to be herself. She looked between the two men and sighed. This was her life now, and there would be time to grieve. Right now, she needed to remember that she was a Tyler, and Tylers always found a way to make it work. She could do this.

 

 


	19. Chapter 19

18 February 2161

The Doctor knew he had done what history demanded of him, but sometimes he didn't know if it was the right choice. She was coping, as anyone could see, quite brilliantly. Her tendency to leave rooms to go cry alone was slowly fading. He was proud of Rose for being so strong, proud beyond anything he'd ever experienced. Yet, he felt as if there was a gap between them he couldn't quite bridge. Rose still kissed him, still held his hand, and even snuggled up to him in bed, but it mostly felt like she only did that because it was habit.

When the announcement was made about who she was, everything had seemed to be going as in stride as it could. She smiled when she needed to, made all the right statements when she was stopped on the streets, and brushed off the naysayers when they called her a fraud. It wasn't until the quarantine was lifted that she finally broke. The Doctor knew it was coming, but he hadn't expected it to happen quite so late or quite so dramatically.

He had just left Torchwood, as he still had been working due to staffing levels. Now that people were coming back to the city and resuming their jobs, the board granted him two months of paid leave to help Rose adapt. She mostly stayed home while he worked, if only because she didn't know this London and there wasn't much excitement to be had until the past week.

There was a police car hovering out front and the door was slid open half way to the house. The Doctor rushed in. "Rose! Rose, love, what happened! Where are you?" He looked in the kitchen first, but it was empty.

"In here." She called. The Doctor found her curled up on the sofa, knees to her chest, eyes puffy and red, voice so hoarse she could barely speak. There was a police redheaded officer kneeling beside her, not taking a statement, not talking, just sitting kneeling. Her bare hands were pressed to Rose's lightly.

"Sweetheart, what happened. Are you hurt?" He tossed his jacket aside and settled next to her on the couch. From this angle, he could see a thin light glowing light between their palms. The officer was obviously a projectopath, an Evolved who had the ability to somehow or someway to influence the emotions of others.

Rose shook her head, softly and squeezed her lips together. The officer spoke. "We got a call for a distraught female, there was slight misunderstanding with a paparazzi, but I think we've settled down a bit." She pulled her palms away and patted Rose's knees. "Haven't we Rose."

"Yeah." She wiped her eyes and looked up at the Doctor. "Sorry, I didn't mean to. It just" her eyes fell.

"I'll tell him what happened, while he makes you some tea." The officer stood, and he saw her nametag said A. Pond. The Doctor shot a look at Rose, but she was leaning her forehead on her knees.

He led officer Pond into the kitchen and went to work making Rose some tea. "What happened?"

"She was outside watching the kids across the street building snowmen and playing." Officer Pond let out a sigh. "Some paparazzi showed up, trying to get her to talk to them and such, but in the process it scared the kids. She ran out there to tell them to leave, when one of the kids got knocked down. Then she sorta just blasted half of the group to get them away from the kids."

The Doctor groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "Are they pressing charges?" This was not good. He should have taken time off sooner.

"They tried, but then the families across the street said they would press charges for harassing the kids and being on their property." Officer Pond smirked and shook her hair back. "Nobody is calling for anything now, but Rose refused to come inside until they all left. She was very persuasive."

"I'm sorry about all of this." The Doctor finished stirring the tea and tried to fight back the guilt and pain that was washing through him. "It's all my fault."

"She's pretty torn up inside, Doctor Noble." The ginger officer patted his shoulder and sighed. "Maybe get her out of the country for a bit. That's what I would want, if I were her." Her radio beeped and she smiled again. "I gotta go. I gave her my contact information. You two call me directly if they don't back off."

"Thank you. We appreciate it." The Doctor walked her to the door and came back to find Rose staring out the window at the snow falling again. It had never snowed much when he was a kid or in her time, but since the world had entered a cooling cycle over the last ten years it was becoming more common. He offered her the tea, but she waved it off so he put it on the glass coffee table. He kicked off his shoes and flopped onto the couch. "Come here you." He pulled her arm until she crawled into his lap.

"I'm sorry, Doctor." Rose hid her face in his neck, and her cheeks were still damp. "I've been trying really really hard."

The Doctor stroked her arm and kissed her forehead. "How would you like to go on a trip? We can get you out of this house and away from all of this."

"It wouldn't change anything." She sighed and pressed kiss to his cheek, making him feel even more guilty. "Besides you have to work."

"They gave me two months off with pay. We can go to France." He offered. All he wanted to do was make her happy, but for once he didn't know how. The Doctor had know how to make her happy before, but now he had no idea what was inside of her head. "Tell me how to help you, Rose, because I honestly don't know."

Rose drew a deep breath and pulled back to look at his face. "I don't know. I feel, not trapped, but something else. It isn't that I can't go home. I just feel, useless."

It struck him then that he had been getting it wrong. Rose had always been involved in something back home. An idea lit inside of him. "Come upstairs and change." He nudged her until she stood up and stared at him in confusion.

"Why?" Rose didn't protest while he tugged her up to their room. "Where are we going?"

The Doctor didn't answer. He just dug through the wardrobe she had reluctantly let Andrea pay for and retrieved a pair of pants similar to jeans, a long sleeve shirt, and a pair of boots that were lined with fleece. He also pulled out a long scarf and a fleece hat that would cover her hair. "Put these on."

Once she was dressed and he had changed into clothes more suited for the weather, he led her out of the house. Their house was close to the city, so he could get back and forth to work with ease. Rose hadn't really been into the city yet, as Andrea had taken her directly to shops and home so that people wouldn't bother them.

"What do you see?" He asked, holding her gloved hand lightly as they meandered along.

"People." Rose looked up at him, like she thought he may have gone insane.

"Look closer." He whispered in her ear as he pulled her to a stop near a park. He wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her head.

The Doctor knew when she saw what he wanted her to see. Despite being cold and snowy, it was busy. Children were running around throwing snowballs while parents watched on and chatted. One girl stopped a snowball in mid air, and directed it back at the larger boy who had thrown it. It hit his face and she laughed. The boy did too and chased after her, hitting her in the back with a handful of snow. A parent was placing their hands on frozen benches and melting the ice away for people to sit. Everybody was smiling and laughing.

"You did this." He murmured squeezing her gently. "Both at the U.N. and with your blood." He pointed a finger at a little girl who was blasting snow off of a slide. "Her name is Bethany. She came in with the virus just after you arrived. I delivered the vaccine to her myself." Rose gave a gasp and turned her head to look up at him. "Still feel useless, love?"

"I don't, I just." She turned away and looked again at the crowd. "I did this, didn't I?"

"Come on. I want to show you something else." The Doctor pulled her away and angled her towards the museum that funded the park. Inside was a variety of art from sculptures to moving videos. "A song came out, a few years after your speech, by an Evolved who studied at Torchwood in New York. It became an anthem, of sorts, for the Evolved. See, not every country was on board with the proposal at first."

Rose was looking around at the displays in the wing of the museum he had led her to. As they entered into the area, there was a a transparent holoscreen showing the original agreement page that she had constructed. He wasn't worried when she dropped his hand and began to wander around to look.

The Doctor stood back and watched her press the buttons that played excerpts of speeches, soundbites from old news stories, and other such things. He watched as she stopped in front of a massive screen where a bunch of kids were huddled, with earbuds in their ears. He dug into his pockets and passed her one of his. "Put it in." He smiled as he slid his own in his ear. "Mind if we restart the video?" He asked the kids.

"No! This is awesome!" One boy of about fourteen piped up. The Doctor reached forward and pressed the play symbol.

Rose's hand found his as the song and video restarted. It was Fight Song, by the artist Rachel Platten began. The video started with Rose walking up to the podium and speaking, but it slowly morphed to news clips that were reporting it. From there more images and clips poured in.

It was only three and a half minutes, but it showed the hundred and fifty years worth of history. It showed how some countries accepted it, but others resisted. There were the equal acceptance protests and the rallies for peace. Eyewitness videos showed evolved who could fly swooping into flood streets and lifting people to safety. It ended with a single quote "Build a future your children can be proud of" was overlaid on an image of a twenty year old Toni smiling proudly in front of the newly opened Torchwood Academy in Rome, and in his right hand was a single rose.

"I don't know what to say." Rose pulled the earbud out. The Doctor wiped her cheek dry with a thumb, his hearts swelling with pride at the woman beside him. He hoped this would do it, show her exactly how not useless she was. "All of this is so amazing. I never imagined that it would grow so big. I just wanted people to be able to live without fear." She spun slowly in place, gazing around at everyone and everything in awe.

Most of the kids hand wandered away, but a pair of twins were staring at her from where their mother was holding their hands and kneeling. The Doctor noticed her nudging the boy and girl in their direction, but not speaking too loudly. "Rose." He whispered, ready to help her get out if a crowd started forming, and she turned to him.

"What?" She asked, but before he could respond the twins shuffled shyly over, and stared up at them. "Hello." She smiled down at the pair.

"Are you Rose Tyler?" The boy whispered softly.

"Mummy told us to ask very quietly." The girl explained. "Because you may not want people to know."

"Yes, I am." The Doctor couldn't fight back the smile of adoration as she kneeled. "What are your names?"

"My name is Rose too." The little girl whispered softly, her brown ponytail swishing as she looked back at her mom. "This is my brother Toni. Mummy says our great grandma Natalie was a student when you took her to meet the queen way back then."

"Natalie was one of my favorites. She was very shy and sweet, just like you." Rose tapped her nose softly and smiled.

"Did she wear gloves too?" The boy, Toni, held up his mittened hands. "I have to until I learn how to block out the images."

"She did." The Doctor knelt down too. "What about you, little Rosebud."

"I don't have any special abilities." She shrugged and her cheeks flushed. "But that's okay."

"Of course it's okay." Rose looked over at the Doctor and winked. "You can still grow up to be super important."

"Can we take a picture?" The little Rose asked, her eyes lighting up.

"Of course!" Rose waved at their mum and wrapped an arm around each of them. The Doctor made to move away, but the boy grabbed his hand and held him still.

They left after that, and while Rose was silent, she was smiling. "Penny for your thoughts?" He asked, bumping her playfully with his hip. It felt good to see that smile, all tongue and teeth and eyes bright. He had missed it so much.

"I know what I can do." Rose laughed and grabbed his arm, resting her head against him. "Since I'm about a hundred and fifty years behind on science and technology. I can't go back to work doing that." She squeezed his arm and continued. "What about if I wrote a book about everything, from the start of Project Vortex to the explosion. I can tell the story about how it really happened."

It was a really good idea, he had to admit. The Doctor turned them back down their street. "What about after that?"

"We can cross that bridge when we get to it." She laughed, and the sound of it made him laugh too. "Thank you, for being there for me Doctor. And thank you for saving me from the fire."

That made him stop. The Doctor had be so afraid she held that against him, held ripping her from her family and friends. "Really?"

"Really." She nodded and went up on her toes to kiss him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Stuck with you is not so bad."

 


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, sorry, Hurricane Irma has me packing and boarding and stocking my pantries! Yay florida! 
> 
> Happy fluff.

27 April 2161

Rose had forgotten it was her birthday, as muddled as she was with all of the changes. She had spent the day working on her book, trying hard to get the words out without sounding flat and dry. She was so engrossed in her typing that when a pair of tender hands began massaging her shoulders she almost fell out of her chair. "Jesus Christ you scared me." She gasped, turning her head to look up at the chuckling Doctor.

"Sorry love." His thumbs resumed their circular pressed along her spine, and he leaned down to give her a gentle kiss to her cheek. "I have a birthday surprise for you." The Doctor gave her shoulders a squeeze and held out a hand to pull her up.

Rose stretched after she stood, and then looped her arms around his neck to grin at him. "I forgot it was my birthday." She grazed her fingers along the back of his neck. He had been back to work for about a week now, and although his schedule wasn't as hectic as before, she still missed the way they used to see each other constantly.

"Good thing I remembered then." His voice was amused, but his eyes darkened slightly at her touch. His fingers closed on her waist and pulled her closer. "If you don't stop that, we're gonna be late." He murmured.

Feeling flirtatious, she let her fingers trail up into his hair and went up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his jaw below his ear. "It's my birthday." She giggled, unsure exactly where this sudden need to feel his touch on her skin came from. Sometimes just being near him brought it on. "I can be late if I want."

"You don't even know where we're going." The Doctor's fingers inched slowly under the hem of her shirt to stroke the skin along her waist, and it made her shiver in a delightfully warm way. "We have dinner reservations." She could tell her was so close to giving in, so she gave a gentle tug on his ear. "Rose."

"Shower?" She suggested innocently. She knew he wasn't going to give in, but it was worth a shot.

"Later." His lips tickled along her ear with his promise, and Rose felt her stomach do a little flop. She loved that even after everything, he was still able to make her feel so giddy. "For now, just a nice dress." The Doctor pulled away and angled her towards the bedroom. He had laid out a knee length blue dress with white trim and a pair of matching heels. This was not much of a surprise.

Lately, when he felt like she was isolating herself away, the Doctor would make her get dressed and take her out. Sometimes it was to dinner, a movie, or even just a walk around the city. The only surprise now was him stripping out of his normal Torchwood Medical Department shirt as he ushered her towards the ensuite. "Formal makeup or..." she paused to look back at him.

"Whatever makes you feel beautiful." He winked and closed the door so she could bathe.

Rose settled for wearing her hair loose and wavy, because the Doctor loved it like that. She let her makeup be natural in regards to foundation and blush, focusing only accentuating her eyes and expertly applying the tempting red lipstick. When she came out of the ensuite, he was in the closet. She stepped into the dress, admiring the way it hung over her body. These new materials always seemed to fall just right, never bunching or wrinkling. She turned when she heard the closest slide shut and gasped in surprise.

Somehow the Doctor had managed to track down a brown pinstripe suit, paisley tie, blue dress shirt, and cream colored Converse exactly identical as what he had worn the day they met. "How did you find that?"

"Donna's sister in law is a seamstress." The Doctor pulled at his ear and grinned sheepishly. "She made it for me, especially for tonight."

Rose swallowed, her mind whirling. The possibilities were endless, but she didn't want to jinx anything by hoping. "You look fantastic." She reached up to straighten his tie and smooth his lapels as she had done a million times. "So where are going that's so important you passed on a shared shower?"

"You'll see." The Doctor led her out to a waiting cab. The ride to their destination was quick, as all trips were she had learned. She had been expecting a restaurant, but they were dropped off at hotel. A staff member led them out to a private balcony that was strung with lights and overlooking a garden. An intimate table was set up with wine and glasses, but the food was nowhere in sight.

"It's beautiful." Rose paused by the rail to look out at the garden, lit by colored lights and a fountain. She knew what he was creating for her, their first personal moment. It was a moment, similar to this, that she admitted how much she hated the glitz and glamor one side of her life entailed.

"Dance with me." The Doctor tugged lightly on her arm until she came into his embrace. There was no music playing, no fancy dinner on the other side of the doors. Rose smiled up at him, remembering how he had seemed so hesitant at first to breach their professional relationship, how he always seemed to hold back just a little. She knew why now, and it made sense.

His chuckle, as he moved them slowly around made her blush for some reason. "What's so funny?" She asked.

"When I met you, I was kind of star struck." He admitted. "Working with you made me nervous and was the most exciting time of my life. I thought you were beautiful, but I didn't want to get too close. You kept drawing me in, testing my limits without even knowing it. Then, I walked into that ballroom, and you smiled at me."

Rose wanted to speak, to tell him that she had felt the same way about him. She wanted him to know that his intelligence and confidence had made her so nervous that she had very nearly not hinted he come to the party, but he spoke again. "When you lit up like that, I almost walked out. I knew I shouldn't let myself get close, to lose myself in your eyes. I'm so glad I didn't listen to myself."

"So am I." Rose rested her head against his shoulder. She had wondered, if he hadn't been there, how differently things may have gone. "I couldn't resist you, you know." She had never told him this part, and she looked up in time to see his eyebrows raise. "From the moment you sat across from my desk and challenged my intention of hiring you on. I kept hoping, waiting for you to do or say something. Yet, you never did until that kiss."

"Tell me you don't regret me bringing you here." The Doctor brought them to a stop, his caramel eyes burning into hers. "Because some days I think you hate me, and I don't know."

Rose felt her heart tighten. She didn't regret it. At first she had, because she loved her family and hated the thought of leaving them behind. Then she had remembered that if he hadn't, she'd have died. "No, Doctor, I don't. I love you, love being with you."

"Do you really?" He let go of her hand to cup her face. "Love me, that is?" There was something in the way he couldn't stop staring into her eyes. Rose realized her early assumption had been right, and she felt her heart leap into her throat. The emotions coursing through here were too much to speak, so she nodded.

"Enough to be my wife?" The hand holding her waist slipped away, and he was kneeling. In his fingers was a ring.

"Yes!" Rose reached down and pulled him to his feet. She didn't even wait for him to put the ring on her finger before she caught his lips in a kiss. There was a relaxation in his touch she hadn't felt before, like her response had given him permission to fully love her. "I do love you." She whispered against his lips. "How could you ever think I hated you? I belong with you."

The Doctor caught her hand and slid the ring into place before kissing it. "I just needed to hear you say it."

Rose was just about to press up on her toes to kiss him again, but a waiter had appeared with their dinner. She couldn't keep her eyes off of the Doctor. She had already been feeling at home again, but this just solidified that feeling. She knew then, that she was doing this, that she was not just surviving or living. She was going to thrive.

 


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluffy smut  
> Happiness  
> Surprise ending

4 June 2161

Their wedding had been a small, quick thing, mostly because once the news and media had heard about the engagement Rose had refused to let them blow it up. The Doctor didn't care if the ceremony had been lavish or the intimate setting in the sprawling garden and orchard that framed the back of the Tyler mansion. Rose had opted for the simple, with a knee length halter top white dress, and he had just worn a white dress shirt and black slacks. Andrea and Mikael had gifted them with a two week trip around the Mediterranean in a yacht for a honeymoon.

They had been home for almost two weeks, and Rose had thrown herself back into the finishing touches on her book. The Doctor thought that was why she was being so secretive. After all, nobody had been allowed to read her work while she was drafting it, but now she was going above an beyond at keeping her computer locked. He didn't mind the secrecy though, because he knew Rose needed something for herself.

Yet, when he finished loading the dishes into the dishwasher, he heard her call for him. "Doctor, can you come here?"

He pushed the on button and followed the sound of her voice. She was standing in her makeshift office by the window, staring down at their empty back garden glowing in the sunset. The Doctor had never been one for growing flowers, so all it held was a small outdoor dining set. "Yes love." He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"What do you think?" She ran her fingers along the blinds and turned in his arms. "Should we keep the blinds or add curtains?" Her eyes were sparkling up at him, like the question held more meaning than he knew.

"It's your office." He shook his head at her, and a sly smile crossed her face. "What?" He couldn't help but laugh. Honestly, she looked like a kid who had just snuck a peak at his Christmas presents.

"Come with me." Rose reached up to trail her fingers along his jaw and slipped from his arms. He couldn't stop himself from following in her wake, especially not when she began pulling her shirt over her head.

The Doctor left it there, adding his own to the pile as he went. His pants joined hers just outside of the bedroom door, and by the time he stepped into the room she was kneeling on the bed wearing nothing but that same sly smile. "What is this all about, you silly woman." He kicked off his boxers, already knowing his body was in full arousal at the rear view casual tease he'd received.

"I'll tell you." Rose crooked a finger at him, and he willingly joined her on the bed. He savored the way her soft skin felt under his fingers as he touched her and sighed happily into her lips as she pulled him over her body. "I love you." Her words were light, unusually happy, and it sent warmth through his body.

"I love you too." His breath sent goosebumps over her breasts, and he smirked as he twirled one tongue around a nipple. That usually earned him a soft sigh, but this time he was rewarded with a sharp intake of breath as her fingers tightened on his shoulders. "Sensitive today?" The Doctor repeated the action to the other side and chuckled as she did it again.

"You have no idea." Rose's voice was breathless already, and a quick press down and forward of his hips had him gasping at her already slick and ready folds. Her foot trailed up his calf.

"I wonder just how sensitive." He flexed his hips again, pushing forward just a bit more, and was rewarded with a little yelp of delight as his length pressed the delicate bundle of nerves at her apex. "Oh, well now." The Doctor began trailing his tongue down her body. He wanted to see just how many new noises he could make her do.

"Later." Rose pulled at his hair softly, and he went willingly back to her lips. "Want to feel you." Her leg came up around his hips, and she pressed down gently with her heel.

The Doctor wasn't going to be complained being denied one treat in replacement of another. "Yes Ma'am." She was ready when he pressed into her, and he lifted his head enough to watch her eyes flutter shut as he sank languorously into the velvet heat. "Look at me."

Rose's honey eyes opened, sparkling in pleasure as he pulled back and slid forward again. Their lovemaking had a variety of levels, from what seemed like mutual worship, fiery passion in a hot shower, a frantic race to the finish on the couch, sleepy half touches when they both woke in the middle of the night, or even the rough and possessive moments where he'd tie her to the headboard and she'd beg for him to go harder. This was different. There was a soft playfulness to her he had never experienced.

The Doctor couldn't stop his fingers from trailing along her skin, the way hers were dancing across his back and shoulders. He set a teasing pace, enjoying the way she tightened and fluttered around him. It felt wonderful, and the usual sighs and gasps of his name had been replaced by soft giggles and breathy whispers of his name. He loved this, the way she would purposefully tighten around him as he pulled back and then relax as he slid forward.

"I have a secret." She breathed into his ear before nipping at the skin below it. "A brilliant secret."

"Tell me." The Doctor gave a little deeper of a thrust. "I love secrets." Rose shook her head and scratched her nails lightly across his the back of his shoulders. He swallowed a growl and tightened his fingers on her hips. "Keep that up, and I won't stay so gentle."

Rose arched up into him in response and sucked sharply on his shoulder. Taking that as permission, the Doctor changed pace. The teasing touches turned urgent and needy. He trailed a hand between them, seeking that sensitive bud between her folds, and circled it with her thumb.

He loved the way she responded, clutching at his back, rocking her hips to meet his, and soon the flutters turned to tight clenches as she exploded beneath him. Just the sight and feel of her drove him to the edge, but he held back. Rose coming undone was without a doubt his favorite sight in the world. "Please Doctor."

He didn't have to ask what she meant. He curled his arms under her, closing his hands on her shoulders from beneath to hold her too him, and lost himself to a frantic sprint. His own release came on like a wave, and as he faltered in his thrusts, Rose kissed him deeply.

Breathless, feeling his hearts pounding snd his body trembling with hers, he slid out of her. She gasped at the loss, but he caught the sound on his tongue and rolled onto his back. The Doctor pulled Rose with him, sucking softly on that pouty lower lip as she played her fingers across his chest. "Mmm that was perfect."

"Yes you were." The Doctor chuckled as her flushed face broke into a smile. She propped her chin on her knuckles and grinned cheekily at him. "So, Wife, what is this brilliant secret. Did I earn the right to know?" He wrapped his arms around her, enjoying the happy tingles running through his body.

"Yeah." Rose was giggling again, and she shifted in his arms until her lips found his ear. "Guess." Her breath tickled, and the Doctor gave her rear a playful squeeze. Honestly, she was being a little tease today.

"You got your release date for your book." It was the only thing he could think of that had her so excited.

"Nope." Rose hummed happily and drummed her fingers on his sternum softly. "Guess again."

"Um, you're gonna take that nanny job Andrea offered." He was just taking a stab in the dark with that. Her niece had offered last week, but Rose had politely declined.

"You're never gonna guess." She pulled back to grin down at him. The post coitus glow was fading, but her cheeks were still flushed with excitement. "Should I tell you?"

"Out with it you silly woman." The Doctor tickled her sides and she squealed, trying to wriggle away. He pulled her back down and chuckled at the absolutely adorable way she was beaming at him.

Rose drew a breath and lowered her chin back to knuckles. Her amber eyes were bouncing back and forth between his own. "My secret is." She paused and bit her lip with another giggle. "You're going to be a daddy."

The Doctor's world spun to a stop at those words. They had casually discussed it the night the proposed, but Rose hadn't seemed to be against or for it then. He loved kids, had always wanted them, but was content to wait if she wanted to. Then he ran the details in his head. When was the last time she'd had alcohol, their engagement party to tell their friends? She hadn't had more than a sip of champagne at their wedding. "A baby?" His world started spinning again, full of delight and excitement. "Really?"

"Really!" Rose scrambled out of bed to dash to her office and came back with her tablet before he could move. She pulled up the crystal clear image from an ultrasound. The baby was so small, only about a month along.

"How long?" The Doctor was in awe at the image before him. "Did you know before the wedding." He touched the screen before moving his palm to her still flat stomach. "When did you stop taking your pill?

Rose shook her head. "A few days after we discussed it." She glanced up at him through her lashes, eyes a bit nervous. "I didn't even realize I missed my cycle until last week."

"This is wonderful." He pulled the tablet from her hands and moved her to his lap so he could splay both hands over her bare skin. "Are you happy?" The Doctor was elated himself, but needed to know she was too.

"Of course I am." Rose linked her fingers with his and leaned her head back to his shoulder. "My own little family."

The Doctor held her tight, reveling in the joy he felt exploding inside of him. He never imagined this time last year, that the nightmare of his life would have come to this perfect moment.

6 February 2162

The Doctor cradled his tiny, sleeping daughter in his arms. Rose was relaxing as she finished her dinner, looking tired but delighted. "She's so perfect." He cooed. Honestly, his hearts were so full he thought they may erupt. "With her tiny fingers and her little toes."

"And her little wings." Rose chirped up with a giggle. "Mind her wings, Doctor."

He shifted her in his arms. His daughter had brown curls, soft honey eyes, and a tiny set of feathered wings that were currently folded against her soft back. The Doctor considered himself the luckiest man in history. He had his miracle in Rose and his angel in little Jacqueline Sarah Jane Noble. When he looked up at his wife, he knew that neither of them would have traded this for the world.

 

 


End file.
